You Deserve to be Alone
by Study in Elegant Death
Summary: Not everyone likes the company of others. Sora learns this after his Summer vacation ends and the school year begins. Wanting to be friendly to a new student, he does his best to befriend him. Despite his cold attitude and treatment toward Sora, he's still determined that they could be friends. Everyone else aren't so sure about that fact.
1. Chapter 1: The New Kid

Thanks for giving it a read! Eventually this will end up being a Sora x Roxas...somehow.

-Elegant

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The New Kid**

"Rise and shine! It's time to get up for school!"

Sora groaned and groggily took in his surroundings, he longed for just a few more minutes of sleep. It honestly couldn't already be morning, let alone the day he'd long dreaded over his Summer break, could it? Trying to find the will to open his eyes, he sat still for a few more moments on the verge of sleeping once more. That is until he felt gentle prodding, and the removal of his source of warmth and comfort- the blanket was tossed aside. "Alright! I'm up!" he exclaimed, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, yawning and raising his arms in defeat. Any other day he probably would have woken up on his own, without his mother's aid, and mild to no protest- but school days were the worst.

"You can't be late for your first day of school." His mother chided him, "Breakfast will be ready by the time you get ready."

"Okay!" Sora called after her, still fighting to completely wake up. After a few more moments of sitting in his bed, and her calling upstairs for him to get up, he finally decided to move. Sliding his feet over the edge of his bed, he yawned again and stood up. Wasting no time in fixing his bed he recovered his blanket from the floor and took great care in straightening it out on his mattress. Once satisfied, he made his way over to his closet and grabbed a casual outfit for his first day. Most people dressed up special for these kinds of things, but Sora honestly had no one to impress. Besides, he didn't find anything wrong with a hoodie, baggy pants and sneakers.

Satisfied with his choice, Sora made his way to the bathroom and quickly started the shower. He let the water run for a moment or two, and adjusted the temperature accordingly, that way he wouldn't be trapped somewhere between the heat of a volcano and frostbitten from a miscalculated twist of the knobs. The only trouble was he had to make sure that it wasn't too inviting, lest he waste more of his time in the shower, and feel like sleeping again. Ah, only on the last day of Summer did one truly miss sleeping in until noon, and lazing away the rest of your days with the comfort of friends or whatever you chose to do. But dwelling on such things would get him nowhere and only delay the inevitable.

Making his way out of the shower, Sora quickly dried himself off and got dressed. Quickly brushing his teeth before making his way downstairs, he found his promised breakfast waiting at the table. "Thank you!" he smiled softly, sitting at the table and immediately digging in to his breakfast. Stealing a quick glance at the clock, he saw that time was definitely not on his side. Quickly scarfing down whatever he could, Sora brought his plate to the sink and rushed out the door. Thankfully, his mother had placed his bag right where she knew Sora'd have to snatch it up in a moments notice.

Due to how long he'd taken, Sora had to sprint to school. Pushing it to the absolute limit, he finally reached his destination, huffing and placing his hands on his thighs for support while he recovered. He made a mental note to fix his sleeping schedule. Once his breathing was back to normal, Sora made his way to the assigned classroom on his time table. To his immediate relief, he saw that at the very least his first class was filled almost entirely with friends. At the beginning of the school year you honestly had no idea what was going to happen. People came and went all the time, and friends often ended up sorted into different classes, leaving you with no one to interact with. It wasn't that he hated the idea of meeting and making new friends, it was just nice to have some already with you.

"Look who finally made it!" Riku smirked a bit, sarcastically clapping for Sora. "Right on time by the looks of it."

"Yeah, I, uh...had a little trouble waking up this morning." Sora admitted, scratching the back of his head. Giving a totally carefree smile in return to Riku's teasing, he was just happy to have made it.

"Isn't that the way it works every year?" Riku asked, because it seemed that every year right on the dot Sora always made it with a scarce few minutes to spare. He never learned that his sleeping schedule had to be fixed.

"Well, yeah." Sora nodded, laughing a bit, "But I usually have you to bail me out when it comes to these kinds of things."

"True." Riku nodded, "But I wanted to see if you could make it on your own for once."

"Did I disappoint you?" Sora asked, taking a seat beside Riku.

"Not really. It was actually pretty much what I expected of you." Riku admitted, shrugging his shoulders a bit. Sora was always so carefree, save for the first day of the school year. It lasted at least for the morning until he got back into the rhythm of things.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Sora couldn't decide on whether Riku was paying him a compliment or scolding him for his usual antics.

Before Riku could reply, Kairi chimed in. "Sora! Glad you could make it!" the redhead smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm late." Sora grinned, "But I'm here!"

"I can see that." Kairi laughed, "So, did you hear?" she asked, wondering if Riku had already told Sora the news.

"Hear what?" Sora asked, completely clueless on what she was asking him about.

"There's going to be a new student starting today." Kairi beamed, the girl seemed excited about the fact that a new face was going to be joining them.

"Aren't there always 'new students'?" Riku asked, he didn't mean to come off as stupid, he'd leave that to Sora. But it was a little strange to say that they were getting a new student.

"Well, yeah, but this one's going to be with us!" Kairi clarified. "And I heard it's going to be a boy."

"Really?" Sora asked, already wondering what kind of person the new kid would be.

"Yep!" Kairi nodded, "I wonder what he'll be like."

"We won't know until class starts. Speaking of which-" Riku glanced at the clock, "-isn't that right about now?" he asked, and just as he finished the bell rang.

"You have an eerie sense of timing." Kairi commented, "I need to take my seat." she smiled at the boys and walked to her preferred seating by the window.

"I guess I should have noticed..." Sora looked around the room once everyone was actually sitting down he saw a blank space right next to him. Looking to Riku, he instead found nothing more than silence. Maybe he didn't want to get scolded by their teacher on the very first day, which was the 'smart' choice- even if it was boring to do so. Sighing to himself, he resolved to try and pay attention. Not that it really did him much good in the end, he only really maintained the simplified versions of things Riku often made up to help him. The convenience of being in the same class with your best friend consistently over the years. But he'd still need to compare their time tables to see if he'd completely lucked out and was with Riku for every class, or if he was on his own.

The classroom door opened, and their teacher stepped through. Any residual chatter that had been lingering in the air immediately died off as Zexion made his way to the front. "Good morning, class." he didn't wait for them to respond- not that he actually thought they would, in general. "We have a new student joining us today. You can come in now." he instructed.

Once more the door opened,everyone immediately tried to gain a glimpse of the new kid. Instead the vast majority just saw the faintest bits of blonde hair sticking out from a black hood. His sense of style was eerily similar to Sora's, down to the baggy pants and sneakers, save for the fact that his choice of color was far more 'gloomy'. Making his way to the middle of the room, he turned to face everyone. For whatever reason his face was expressionless, as if he didn't care what was going on around him. Which was odd, considering the girls were all commenting on how cute he seemed. Sora swore he heard Kairi and Namine commenting on that fact. On some level it seemed like it may have been an annoyance to Roxas.

Roxas didn't seem to care who his classmates were, as he vaguely scanned the room but didn't really take notice of anyone. That is, until he made eye contact with Sora. Shoot. Was he staring too much? Then again, it seemed like everyone was staring the same amount, not that staring in general was a nice thing to do. Immediately averting his eyes, Sora was sure there was no way Roxas looked at him. Hesitating for a moment, he finally looked back up, and once more they were in a staring contest.

" _Is it just me, or is he staring_ _?_ " Riku whispered, doing his best not to get caught.

" _Eh, I thought it was just me..._ " Sora admitted. So, Roxas _was_ staring at him. Maybe it wasn't the best way to make an impression on someone new, let alone so different.

"Well? Introduce yourself." Zexion instructed.

"Roxas." the blonde said his name aloud, still continuing to look at Sora. He didn't know why in particular his eyes had settled on the brunette, but it seemed like that one was staring at him the most. His gaze must have been making the brunette nervous, as he and his silver haired friend were whispering back and forth, all the while never breaking their gaze from Roxas.

"Very good. You may take your seat now. It looks like there's one left beside Sora. Sora- would you mind raising your hand?" Zexion asked, waiting patiently for the brunette to comply.

Roxas immediately recognized the person he'd be sitting by. Walking through the labyrinth of people and desks before him, he made his way to his seat. Sighing as he sat down, Roxas placed his bag under the desk and pulled out a notebook and mechanical pencil. Compulsively glancing through the corner of his eye, he caught the brunette still staring.

"Hi, I'm-" Sora started to introduce himself, but Roxas cut him off.

"'Sora', right?" Roxas asked, not bothering to look over.

"Uh, yeah. It's nice to meet you, Roxas." Sora beamed happily, doing his best to try and make this person feel comfortable.

"How do you know that?" Roxas asked, finally looking over at Sora.

"Know what?" Sora asked, staring blankly back at Roxas.

"How do you know that it's 'nice to meet me'? You don't even know me." Roxas stated the obvious, even if it seemed 'cold' to others, he didn't appreciate naive people making judgments based upon quick glance overs of himself. How did he factually know that Roxas was 'nice', and that he wanted to 'meet' him? Had it not been for the teacher saying his name, Roxas wouldn't have the foggiest clue who the weird boy was. Save for the fact that he'd been staring at him for quite some time.

"Well, I just thought that I'd...like to meet you." Sora admitted, "I never really thought about it, like you said. I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" it was another needless thing to do. Most people did it unconsciously, and an apology with no basis behind it was positively useless.

"Because, I think I hurt your feelings in some way, and I don't want to be rude." Sora semi-explained, he didn't know why Roxas was being so standoffish when it came to everything he was saying.

"So, based upon a mild guess you think I'm offended, somehow. And that merits you having to give me an apology?" Roxas couldn't help but let out a small scoff. "A word of advice, Sora, don't apologize to people unless you specifically know _why_ you are apologizing, and know if the given situation requires it. Otherwise the gesture seems nothing but hollow."

"Oh." Sora's smile faltered a bit, as he just decided to nod and agree with Roxas. It seemed a lot easier then sparking on an argument over nothing. Even if his feelings were a little hurt, Sora felt like he should try again at some point to be friends with him. Maybe over lunch, that is, if Roxas didn't already have other plans.

" _I think that one's a lost cause, Sora._ " Riku gently nudged his friend to gain his attention while he spoke.

" _You don't know that._ " Sora didn't believe on giving up just because you had a misunderstanding with someone. He'd prove Riku wrong, Roxas had to have a reason for acting the way he did. Maybe he was actually just nervous. Especially coming to a new school, seeing so many new faces, and then having to sit beside a complete stranger who was chatting him up.

Roxas could hear their whispers. Despite what they may have thought, neither one of them was very discrete. Especially with the way that Sora would periodically glance over at Roxas. For most of the lesson he ignored it, but sometimes he'd glance back through the corner of his eye, and the brunette would try to act nonchalant. Roxas pretended he didn't see anything, and Sora felt verified that he wasn't angry.

"Roxas. Would you like to come solve the equation?" Zexion picked on him deliberately as he saw the chatter between Sora, Riku and Roxas. Well, more specifically Riku and Sora, and Roxas with Sora. If people weren't going to pay attention in his lessons, then why should he honestly bother? Assigning math to students directly in the morning was always the worst. None of them really retained anything, as their focus was at the bare minimum.

Pushing his chair back Roxas stood up and walked to the front of the class without a word. He took a white board marker and promptly set about solving Zexion's board work, looking at the teacher when he was finished.

"Well...you may be seated then." it appeared Zexion was mistaken. Someone was actually listening. At least some people could multi-task.

Roxas nodded and walked past him back to his desk.

"Sora." Zexion called upon the least likely to get any equation right.

"Yes?" Sora asked, instantly sitting up straight.

"Come up here and finish this next one." Zexion instructed while he quickly wrote it out.

"Okay..." Sora stood up and took a deep breath. Walking past Roxas, he saw the blonde stare at him for a moment _._ Going to the front, he stared at the white board, his mind drawing a complete blank. Everyone was waiting, and Zexion was purposefully drawing it out to shame Sora for not listening to him while he was speaking.

Roxas watched with vague curiosity. It appeared Sora wasn't the brightest of his peers. A typical 'nice, but slow' guy. Judging from how long this was taking, Zexion really had it in for Sora. Although it finally seemed like he was going to grant him some sort of mercy. Sora seemed like he'd squirmed enough under the pressure, anyway. But most of the other students were brushing it off as 'typical Sora'- whatever that meant.

"Would you like someone to take your place, Sora?" Zexion asked, his arms folded as he frowned at his student.

"Y-yes..." Sora bowed his head in defeat.

"Very well. But next time, how about you actually _listen_ while I am speaking, yes?" Zexion asked, before calling upon Riku to finish the equation.

Sora walked back to his desk with an air of doom and gloom. It was embarrassing being called up like that, and then not having the foggiest clue of what to do. He made a mental note of asking Riku to borrow his notes. Watching his friend solve the problem with little to no trouble at all. Although he had to wonder who solved theirs faster- Roxas or Riku. Stealing a glance at the clock, he was grateful when the bell rang and they were excused from the lesson. "Riku, would you mind...?"

"Like you need to ask." Riku rolled his eyes before handing over his notes to Sora.

"Thank you!" Sora hugged Riku, "You're a life saver!" he was so lucky to have Riku bail him out all the time. Pulling back from the gesture, he carefully placed the notes into his backpack for safekeeping.

"You owe me one." Riku said, "So, what's your next class?"

"Hang on." Sora fished it out of his bag. "Looks like...gym. With Larxene."

"Ouch." Riku winced, "Well, keep your chin up, and do your best. I know you can do it." he pat Sora on the head and walked out of the classroom.

"Wait! We don't have the same class!?" Sora called out in vain.

"No yelling in the classroom." Zexion scolded him.

"Sorry." Sora smiled apologetically. Collecting his things, he walked out of the classroom. Making his way to his newly assigned locker, he quickly placed his bag inside and grabbed his P.E. clothes. "Hey, your locker's right beside mine! Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other!" Sora decided now was the moment to try and strike up conversation with Roxas. The blonde, however, must have disagreed as he let out a grunt and quickly grabbed his required things. "Oh, you have gym right now, too? If it's with Larxene, I can show you the way!"

Despite his indifference on the matter, Roxas had no choice but to take him up on his offer. He didn't know the school at all, and being given room numbers didn't help his situation. Following rather than walking side by side with Sora, he brushed past hoards of people making their way to next classes, or chatting for the remainder of the short 'break' they had in-between classes. Five minutes wasn't a very long amount of time, and it seemed lots of people enjoyed wasting it on things like social obligations. Periodically Sora would look behind him just to make sure Roxas was keeping up.

"We're here." Sora announced, "You should hurry and get changed, Larxene doesn't like people who are late!" he opened the door and held it open for Roxas a bit before slinking through.

Roxas didn't follow Sora into the change room, instead he went to the bathroom and changed there. He preferred the privacy a school change room simply didn't provide. Refusing to remove his hoodie, he walked back into the gym and found Sora waiting for him.

"You don't use the change room...?" Sora asked, wondering why Roxas opted out of joining the other boys.

"No." Roxas shook his head, "Never cared for them." he shrugged not really finding it a big deal.

"So, uh, we may need to partner up...and I was wondering...if maybe...you'd want to?" Sora asked.

"Is this just because you're the only person I 'know' and therefore you think I won't find someone else?" Roxas wouldn't outwardly admit he was a bit grateful that Sora had offered. It saved him the trouble of having to socialize with one of the many other students in the class. Splitting the classes between seniors and sophomores seemed like nothing but a recipe for disaster. Seniors tended to be nothing but antagonistic barbarians with ill regard for their underclassmen. As if somehow being the eldest gave them a right to be disrespectful to the younger grades. Even if it was somehow a 'tradition' they clearly knew what it was to be one of the younger grades. Maybe they saw themselves as already 'paid their dues' and decided it was someone elses turn for a little torment. Either way, he wasn't about to let them intimidate him.

"No!" Sora shook his head, "I didn't mean that at all! It's just...you're also the only person I know in here." he admitted. "And I thought it would be easier if it's you and me, that way we don't have to be alone. But if you don't want to, then I guess I can find someone else..." his eyes sunk to the floor, clearly full of hurt. Turning away from Roxas, he started to walk away and try to find a new partner. He honestly didn't know who else to approach, but surely it wouldn't be all that hard for him to find someone.

Roxas knew he'd regret saying this, but that still wasn't enough to stop him. "Wait." he sighed, "Fine. I'll be your partner."

"You will!?" Sora could barely contain his excitement, "That's great!" he grinned as wide as he could, going in for a hug out of habit.

Roxas took an instinctive step back, letting Sora face plant. "Only to make things easier for us, right?"

"Ouch..." Sora rubbed his face, "Right." he agreed. Just when he thought he'd gotten some common ground with Roxas, he took two steps back. Literally.

"Aren't you going to get up?" Roxas knew that Sora was likely waiting for an outstretched hand or something along those lines. But Roxas didn't feel inclined to do so. He barely knew this person. And he didn't really have an interest in being friends, despite what Sora may have thought of him.

"Yeah." Sora nodded, "I just...needed a second." he smiled, dusting himself off as he stood up.

"Alright class. Those of you who had me previously know what I expect." Larxene stepped out for a moment and instantly went right back into her office.

Roxas expectantly looked to Sora for an explanation.

"She wants us to do five minutes of constant laps around the gym." Sora said.

It was pretty straight forward instructions. Everyone started running and Sora was instantly the leader of the group, daring to lap people and trying to do so with Roxas. Sparking a bit of the blonde's competitive nature, Roxas amped up his speed. A few minutes in and both were neck and neck never once giving up the 'first place' spot. Everyone else had slowed down, some even went to brisk walks trying to catch their breath, but just seeing the breakneck pace Sora and Roxas maintained throughout the exercise.

"You're really fast!" Sora said in-between breaths.

"Is this the best you can do?" Roxas semi-taunted Sora, wanting a full on race.

"No." Sora answered truthfully, "I can go faster!" he was up to the challenge.

Upping his speed, Roxas gradually surpassed Sora. The brunette eventually turned the tide just as Larxene came out and forced them to stop.

"Alright. I want everyone to start doing their stretches." Larxene instructed, letting a student lead the rest.

"I think we can call it a tie." Sora said, while he and Roxas copied the person who was leading the stretches.

"Not really. I was winning." Roxas stated facts. From his perspective he was leading on their race before it was called off.

"Next time we'll see who wins." Sora vowed. At least this was giving them something to talk about. Sure, Roxas was still 'cold' but maybe he could wear him down eventually.

"Count on it." Roxas nodded. Once finished their stretches, Larxene stepped into the center of the gym to instruct them on what they were doing for the day.

"Everyone line up." Larxene instructed, going through every person lined up on the wall labeling them either as 'one' or 'two'.

Roxas and Sora respectively ended up on the same team.

"Today, we're going to play dodgeball." Larxene said, "One's on the left, two's on the right. You should all know the rules by now, and if you don't, then it goes like this: catch a ball that someone else throws and you get a teammate back. No hitting in the face. Last team or person standing wins." promptly she set up the line of pink balls they'd all end up throwing at each other. "Ready? Go!"

Instantly Sora and Roxas dashed for the center line of them, snatching as many as they could for their side. Nodding to each other, Roxas and Sora eliminated a few of the other players, but their team of 'twos' were dropping like flies. All of the balls ended up on the 'ones' side, and they were basically defenseless.

"What do we do?" Sora asked, he didn't have any idea.

"What's the name of the game?" Roxas answered with his own question.

"Dodgeball." Sora didn't hesitate for a moment on the answer.

"Then you should do that." Roxas instructed, backtracking a bit from Sora. The two of them standing together would be nothing more than an easy target, and damned if he was going to lose. "You take point. I've got the rear."

"Huh?" Sora looked over, while he was momentarily distracted, the majority of the ones tossed their balls and eliminated him.

"Great." Roxas frowned. If he was going to turn it, then this would take a bit of finesse.

"Looks like we've got this one." the largest of the ones taunted him.

"Yeah? Come and get it." Roxas taunted him right back. Still spacing backward, he only needed to evade one or two balls from their side, try to catch one, and eliminate about 10 more guys. No pressure. Seeing the big guy wind up, Roxas turned his back to the other team until he heard the grunt of when the ball was tossed. Instantly he partially ran up the wall and leapt off it with a flying kick. The ball narrowly missed him, and he earned a 'woah' from the crowd, Sora included. "That all you got?" he couldn't help but smirk.

"That's not fair! You jumped off the wall!"

"It wasn't against the rules." Roxas shrugged. Everyone immediately looked to Larxene who shrugged her shoulders as well, she'd allow it. It wasn't as if she said it was expressly forbidden or anything like that. The last ball was given to the same guy, it was clear their strategy was to have their 'powerhouse' dominate. This time Roxas stared at him head on. He was going to grab that ball. Once more seeing him wind up, he waited to see how far this one would come.

"Come on Roxas! You can do it!" Sora cheered him from the sidelines, momentarily distracting the blonde.

Or, at least, that's what the other team thought. Tossing the ball just as Roxas looked away, the blonde couldn't help but to hold his smirk. This one was going really fast, and it was game over if he didn't catch it. Although he'd hate to say it, he needed help. And there was one teammate he could really use, about now. Backing up a bit, he stretched out his hands and fumbled with the ball, it slipped out of his fingertips at first, and the force had his back hit the wall. But nonetheless, he still caught it. "Sora!"

Surprised when he called his name, Sora pointed to himself.

"Get in here!" Roxas waved him over.

Sora sprinted over and gleefully rejoined their side. "What did you want me to do?"

"Doesn't matter now." Roxas shrugged, "Pick a guy, get a ball, knock him out...and make sure we win."

"Okay!" Sora nodded, eager to prove himself to his partner. Scooping up two balls, Sora grinned, earning a little fear from the seniors they were playing against. Roxas followed suit, both of them walking as close to the boundary between teams without surpassing it. Sora glanced over for a moment, and Roxas nodded. Sora tossed his ball first, and when a guy dove to catch it, Roxas whipped his and eliminated him.

"Two birds." Roxas commented.

"8 more." Sora reminded him.

"Giving up, already?" Roxas asked, "They're not so tough."

"I won't give up!" Sora promised, "We're gonna win this!" just like he said they would.

Roxas scoffed a bit, but he enjoyed the sentiment. It seemed as if all the ones were keen on eliminating Sora, as every ball that landed on their side was tossed his way. One way or another Roxas always found some way to it away from him. Their numbers dwindled away until eventually all that stood between them was the tall senior who didn't look quite so cocky anymore. "Sora."

Instantly, Sora tossed his ball at the senior. He dodged, and Roxas pulled back his arm, faking out a throw. When the senior jumped and fell to the floor, Roxas couldn't help but to scoff a bit. Tossing his ball, he got rid of the last senior and they won. "Better luck next time, huh?" Roxas sarcastically asked as Larxene blew her whistle and declared them the winners.

"We did it!" Sora cried out happily, going for a high five, or anything really to show that Roxas appreciated their team work.

"Next time try not to get so distracted." Roxas snubbed him, denying the gesture Sora had wanted.

Sora's smile faded, and his gaze sank to the floor. Was he really a hindrance? The two of them had beaten the other team, and Roxas had specifically called him back into the fight when he could have picked anyone else to join him. The bell rang signifying the end of class and the beginning of their lunch break. Sora immediately made his way to the change rooms and made his way back to his locker. Roxas wasn't in the gym, anyway, so he figured he'd already gone back to his locker. And sure enough he found the hooded blonde putting his things away, finishing just as Sora arrived.

"Hey, Roxas..." Sora waited to see if he gained the other male's attention.

Roxas looked at Sora but remained silent. Waiting for him to say whatever it was that he felt needed to be said. Maybe he was going to argue that Roxas' previous statement was wrong, and that he was just as much a part of the team as he. Surely there had to be a limit to Sora's patience and kindness, all people eventually give up their endeavors if they see the situation as hopeless. This person should be no different.

"Do you wanna...and feel free to say no...but do you want to join my friends and me for lunch?" Sora asked. He knew that it was definitely a long shot.

"No." Roxas didn't even seem to think over the proposal.

"Well, if you change your mind we'll be sitting in the courtyard." Sora left the offer open, smiling a bit at Roxas before he left. Making his way to the courtyard, he sat down at their usual table, waiting for his friends to join him.

"Sora!" Kairi called, being the first to arrive and waving while she walked over.

"Kairi!" Sora smiled, "How'd your second class go?"

"I think it went pretty well." Kairi thought aloud, "I had a few friends in there, so it went by pretty fast. Riku was there as well, which I guess means you two got separated. How'd yours go? Did you have any familiar faces?"

"Yeah, he went off and had to do his own thing. But I had a lot of fun!" Sora wondered how he'd begin to tell her about some of the cool stuff Roxas did during their dodgeball game. "Actually, no. The only person I knew there was Roxas. Luckily we ended up on the same team, and if you could have seen some of the things he did! Everyone got knocked out of the game, including me, there was 10 guys left on the other team, he turned his back on a guy with a ball and when it got thrown at him he jumped off the wall and it missed him! That's not even the best part! He caught a ball, brought me back into the game, and we ended up beating the other team, with it just being me and him!" he could barely even contain his enthusiasm on the matter, still ecstatic on their victory over the senior team.

"You really like him, don't you?" Kairi asked, smiling. It was cute that Sora had a new friend he clearly idolized on some level. "Oh, speaking of, isn't that him right over there?" she asked.

Sora turned his head and saw Roxas. "Yep."

"Why don't you invite him to come over?" Kairi asked, "I'd like to hear if he talks as fondly of you."

"I asked him if he wanted to, but he said no." Sora frowned a bit, looking a little down.

"Maybe he's shy?" Kairi offered, it seemed like a plausible reason.

"I'm not so sure about that..." Sora trailed off, wondering if what Kairi said was true.

"Sure about what?" Riku asked, sitting at the table and adding himself into the conversation.

"If Roxas is too shy to join us for lunch." Kairi spoke up before Sora could.

Riku snorted lightly. "You're still hung up on him? If he hasn't come around by now, Sora, why would you want to bother?" although, to be fair, it did seem just like him to try and befriend someone no matter their treatment toward him.

"Is he mean to Sora?" Kairi asked, incredibly confused by the situation.

"Is _who_ mean to _Sora_?" Namine asked, she didn't think that those words actually belonged in a sentence together.

"Roxas." Kairi and Riku said in unison.

"Really? I can't see why he would be...did you do something to upset him?" Namine asked Sora directly. Finally cluing in that they'd all been ignoring him for the past few moments.

"I don't think so." Sora shook his head, there was honestly nothing was coming to mind when he thought about it.

"He didn't." Riku said, "Or, at least, that was my take from this morning. It kinda just seems that he's had it in for Sora from the get go. Or maybe he doesn't like anyone." he shrugged his shoulders, "Is it really bugging you, Sora?"

"Not really." Sora fibbed a little. Of course it actually did hurt his feelings a bit to be disliked by someone he was trying to befriend. And everything that he did just seemed to make his and Roxas' situation worse. Making him angry definitely wasn't on his list of things to do, and he honestly hoped that they could be friends at some point or other.

"Well... how about this, if he comes, he comes. And if he doesn't, then, it's his loss, right?" Kairi asked, trying to cheer Sora up.

"Sure." Sora nodded, "How'd your guys day go?" he needed the distraction. Even if he absentmindedly stared at Roxas, who was sitting alone in the courtyard. His expression was still blank, so Sora couldn't decide if he liked his solitude or not. A few people approached him, but he clearly turned down their invitations/offers. Judging from the looks on their faces, it must have been a little bit harsh. Maybe Roxas just wasn't a 'warm' person. Some people had a hard time expressing their emotions, and it seemed possible.

"Sora!"

"Hmm?" Sora asked, staring blankly at his friends.

"You want to go over there, don't you, Sora?" Namine asked, motioning toward Roxas.

"It's okay if you do! We'll understand." Kairi chimed in, smiling softly at the spacing out brunette.

"You guys won't mind?" Sora didn't want to just abandon them. Even if they said it was okay, he wanted to make sure that it absolutely was.

"Yeah. Go on ahead." Riku nodded. Sora wanted to try and make a new friend, and while Riku didn't fully understand it, he would do his best to support the situation. Even if it just ended in Sora getting verbally abused by a brat.

"Thanks guys! I owe you one!" Sora stood up and strode over to where Roxas was sitting. "Mind if I sit down?"

"Does my answer actually affect what you'll do?" Roxas asked. Sora seemed pretty keen on defying whatever it was that he had to say, so at this point, it didn't really matter what his answer would be. Even though it definitely would be 'no'. Why did being the 'new kid' prompt so many people to try and be friendly? Was it because they found him attractive? Did he look like a charity case?

Sora didn't know if his question actually merited a response. Taking the semi-pass from Roxas to sit, he did just that. "Do you like being alone?" he asked.

Roxas frowned a bit at the question, "Why?" it seemed that basically all he could do when it came to Sora was 'answer' a question with a question. Even though that was an evasion and made him seem defensive about everything.

"I'm curious." Sora didn't know what else to say, "Sometimes...people say that they need alone time, and they mean an hour, a day, however long...but some people just don't like the company of others, do they?"

"That's because people tend to get in the way, Sora. There are things that you can do alone, that you can't if you have companions. Sometimes it's better to be alone." Roxas genuinely believed that fact.

"How do people get in the way...?" Sora was intrigued by what Roxas had to say. Clearly he had a lot of cynicism toward others, but why? "And...you know, there are things that you can only do with other people. Being alone sometimes can be nice, but it's also lonely. I don't know what I'd do without all of my friends by my side."

"Just trust me, they do." Roxas didn't seem in the mood to talk about it, least of all with Sora. "Maybe. But even people you consider 'friends' can betray you at a moments notice." he was talking about a deeper, underlying issue, but Sora would probably miss that fact. Staring off into space, he thought about 'friends' and honestly, he didn't miss having people with that label by his side.

"You really think so? I could never think of Kairi, Namine or Riku doing something like that. We've been friends for...as long as I can remember." Sora never thought they had underlying intentions or their own hidden agendas. They never seemed like those kinds of people.

"People like you get taken advantage of in a heartbeat. You think nothing but good of others and that's your downfall. Someone like you would never see it coming. Maybe you're right about them, and maybe you're wrong. But is it really worth the gamble?" Roxas had yet another label to add to Sora; naive.

"To me, it is." Sora nodded without hesitation. "They've all given me memories to cherish, things that I didn't know I was missing until they showed me all the different possibilities out there. I wouldn't give up what we've been through for anything. I don't think I could regret meeting people, because you have to meet them for a reason, right? Even if it is a bad person like you say, it's a lesson that I'll have to learn."

Roxas wanted to say more, but what was the point? Sora would only learn when that person came by him. Someone always wanted to take your 'light' and dull it to the point that you couldn't hold on to ideations such as 'hope'. "Why do you keep bothering with me, Sora?" he decided to change the conversational topic altogether. Roxas treated him like a nuisance from the get go. And now, Sora was still trying to invade his world. Talk him into the fact that he somehow 'needed friends'.

"I don't know." Sora thought about it, and he still didn't understand why.

"It's things like this that make your gestures seem hollow, Sora." Roxas commented, standing up and preparing to leave the table. "I'm going to save us both the time and effort, and assume we share the next two classes."

"That depends...do you have English for your third, and art for your fourth?"

"Uncanny." Roxas sighed, their lockers were side by side. He sat next to Sora in Math. Partnered with him in Gym. Next thing he knew there'd be something tying them together in English, and a project or something that'd force the two to do something. If this was someone's idea of a joke, then it honestly needed to come to an end. He was ready for the punchline.

"Wait, really?" Sora was surprised that they shared every single class.

"Apparently." Roxas didn't seemed thrilled at all by the prospect, but they had to hurry up if they were going to make it. The bell rang and that signaled only two more minutes before they were 'late' to class.

"Come on, let's go." Sora cleared his garbage and quickly tossed it away in the trash can. Moving swiftly, he and Roxas made their way to either ones respective locker.

Roxas grabbed out his backpack, seeing as the day was already half over, there was no sense in leaving it behind. Besides, he wasn't about to lug around heavy textbooks any other way. Quickly glancing at Sora, he saw the brunette doing the same. Waiting semi-patiently for Sora to be ready, Roxas shut his locker door and secured it with his combination lock. "Can we hurry it up?" he asked.

"Sorry!" Sora compulsively gave him an apology, momentarily forgetting that Roxas hated receiving them. But this time he actually knew _why_ he was apologizing to Roxas. "Sorry for wasting your time..." he added the last bit hastily, hoping that would be enough to tide him over.

"Let's get going." Roxas completely brushed off his apology, though it seemed his words had resonated within Sora.

"Okay." Sora promptly took the lead, him and Roxas basically sprinting through the hallway to ensure they made it to class on time. Considering their teacher was DiZ and he wouldn't be happy at all if they were tardy. Barely making it through the door and to the only vacant seats in the classroom Roxas and Sora were panting a bit.

Roxas thanked the fact that in the following school days he wouldn't need Sora to lead him to these places.

"Settle down class." DiZ's voiced boomed over everyone else who had been chattering away, save for Sora and Roxas. "Let's get down to business, shall we? Your assignment that will be due by the end of this session is a two page double spaced journal entry. The subject matter will be left up to you. If need be, you may consult the person sitting next to you for a subject that you find appealing. But I expect that you won't try and turn in something that would be deemed inappropriate. Doing so will result in you staying after class to completely redo it." he was absolutely no nonsense when it came to his classes, and by now they should know exactly what was expected of them. Other teachers may put up with nonsense, but he wouldn't in the slightest.

Sora was happy to hear that he could ask for help, he wasn't sure what to write about. "Roxas, what are you-" he stopped mid-sentence when he saw Roxas already writing.

Glancing over at Sora he sighed a bit. "I'm guessing you need help figuring out what to write?" Roxas asked.

"If it's too much trouble then don't worry about it. I can figure something out." Sora didn't want to be a bother.

"Write about something that you want, Sora. There has to be something right now that you can think of. What is it right now that interests you the most?" for Roxas picking his piece was entirely easy. Maybe it would be seen as 'dark' but that was just the way he liked it. The unadulterated truth seen through his eyes, experienced by him, and no editing to make it seem like all smiles and sunshine. As much as people loved to paint pretty pictures of the world and the people in it, that just wasn't a realistic dream. There were always those out there who made you painfully aware of how 'unfair' things in this life could be.

"I think...I've got it! Thanks, Roxas!" Sora smiled, instantly capturing the ideas he had in mind.

Roxas guessed he was writing something simple, like a high school crush. If anything, his money was on that red haired girl he was sitting with at lunch. Maybe the blonde. Not that it really mattered, anyway. It was none of his business. And so long as it got Sora out of his hair, then everything was good. About halfway through their allotted time Roxas was finished and decided to give it a title. Quickly writing in his neat printing, he was satisfied.

"'Fate of the False'...?" Sora quizzically said the title aloud.

Instinctively Roxas shut his notebook and glared at Sora. "It's not for you to read." he snapped. Scowling as he made his way over to DiZ, Roxas handed in his assignment. Being sure to remove the annoyed expression from his face, lest he get into some form of trouble. He wasn't looking to make 'waves' at his new school.

"You're sure that you're finished?" DiZ asked, "There's still plenty of time left. And you have a chance to reconsider."

"Thank you, sir. But I'm sure that I'm done." Roxas felt that he captured everything he wanted to.

"Alright. Then you may take your seat and do whatever you like for the remainder of your time." DiZ instructed him.

"Yes sir." Roxas went back to his seat and checked over homework from their earlier math class. It had been already finished but he checked it again just to be entirely sure. Once satisfied that it was done correctly, he didn't know what else there was left to do. Art probably wouldn't assign them anything. Glancing over at the clock, he saw that there was little to no time left. Sora was still writing away, and he wondered if he'd actually finish or be punished and stay the extra time. Homework seemed to be his nemesis.

"Finished." Sora was glad to see that he'd actually managed to get it done. He thought that maybe he'd have to stay after school just like DiZ had promised, but he was relieved not to be. Giving his entry a simplistic title 'Wish' he made his way to the front. Handing it over to DiZ he sat carefree at his desk, glad that he'd done something for the day.

Roxas wondered how someone who was more than likely to spend his Summer in school could be so carefree. Although it was just his first day, he already learned that Sora was basically inept in any class that wasn't Gym. And maybe this class. But a journal entry was nothing to sneeze at. Were it something like an essay then that would show if Sora could actually do something difficult. Glancing a the clock, he was glad that yet another class had come to an end. Silently following Sora to their last class, he picked a seat near the back. It appeared art would be a communal thing, as instead of just singular desks there were tables. Roxas wasn't at all surprised when Sora sat right next to him. Maybe he thought that this class would be devoid of his friends as well. Studying all of the new arrivals he couldn't help but to notice that blonde girl who hung around Sora walked in.

"Namine!" Sora called her over, waving and grinning ear to ear that one of his friends could join him.

"We have another class together, how exciting!" Namine smiled, sitting beside Sora. "Oh. Hello, Roxas." at least she'd be able to gauge what the 'problem' was by sitting this close.

Roxas just gave her a slight nod.

Sora and Namine shared a look, and she definitely noticed that he was a bit standoffish just from that little display. But it wasn't exactly 'mean' so much as leaning toward 'rude'. Not that she really took any offense from his lack of vocal response. "So, what class did you come from?" Namine decided to strike up conversation with Sora and hear all about his exploits from lunch til now.

"English." Sora smiled a bit, "We had to write a pretty long entry but Roxas helped me pick out a subject."

"Oh he did, did he?" Namine saw the blonde doing his best to ignore the pair, even turning his head away. Maybe it was just like Kairi thought- he was embarrassed for some reason. "What did you decide to write about?"

"It's a secret." Sora said a bit cryptically, "I can't tell you, sorry."

"Why not?" Namine was surprised to hear that.

"You're not supposed to tell a wish since it won't come true afterward, right?" Sora asked.

"Well, that is true. Hopefully it does come true." Namine wished him well in whatever it was that he desired. Truth be told, she could sort of guess what it was that Sora wrote about.

"Thanks!" Sora couldn't help but to smile at his friend, and Namine returned the gesture in kind.

"Alright class. Today is going to be a free reign project. Use whatever media you like to create something unique." Marluxia instructed all of them, walking over to his desk and sitting down.

"What are you thinking of doing, Namine?" Sora knew that if anyone could excel under these conditions, it'd definitely be her.

"Hmm. I think something with water colors Sora." Namine thought that was her strong suit. She also loved shading with the pencils and blending so many different techniques into one piece. "What are you wanting to make?"

"Uh...I don't know." Sora said truthfully, "What do you think I should do? I mean, he said we could do _anything_ but I don't know what I'd like to make." he was feeling very indecisive about their free reign project.

"Maybe try pick a favorite memory?" Namine suggested, "That way it's something special, and something only you can do Sora."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea!" Sora smiled thankfully, leaving Namine to do her work. Shutting his eyes for a moment, he pictured one of his favorite memories from his childhood. The sand beneath him, waves lapping up on the shore, the deformed palm tree he liked to sit upon and rest from play. The beautiful sunshine cascading down on everything. Although he wasn't the best at drawing, Sora tried to recapture that moment. Concentrating so hard that his brows knitted together, he drew, erased and kept on struggling to get it just the way he liked. It was far from perfect but it was the best that he could possibly manage. Moving on to coloring, he asked Namine for tips on how to improve.

"You want to start like this, Sora." Namine stood up and went behind Sora so as to look over his shoulder and have a better view of the situation. Put a water color pencil in his hand, gently dipping it in the water and guiding his hand to color in the sun. "And if you really want to make it appear more dramatic, then you move while it's still wet. Kind of...like this." grabbing the red and yellow she still guided his hand, blending bits of the red into orange and the yellows, making it look like a fiery sunset.

"Thanks Namine! You're the best!" Sora honestly didn't know if he could get the hang of things just by watching her little demo, but he'd do his best.

"No problem! And your drawing's really good Sora! How old were you when you went there?" Namine asked, the boy in the picture seemed pretty young.

"I was only five...so ten years ago." but even so, he could still remember it all so vividly.

Roxas saw the display between 'friends' and honestly had to wonder if they were a 'thing' or not. Glancing at Sora's work, he found it to be simplistic and very 'innocent'. Somehow, it seemed very 'Sora' in that aspect. Always finding the light in everything. Feeling someone's gaze upon him, Roxas immediately looked away when he saw that Namine had caught him staring. He had his own work to finish anyway. Wasting time on observing Sora and his friend wasn't going to get him anywhere. Roxas traced over the basic outline of the hooded figure in his drawing, shading in the darker areas with his pencil. His eyes weren't visible, but his nose, mouth and chin were left uncovered by the hood. Fixing up whatever he felt needed fixing, he took an eraser to what was once the white background of his page and carefully erased stray pencil marks.

Sora glanced over at Roxas' work and was surprised to see how amazing it was. Was there nothing that he couldn't do? Looking at Namine's he was equally blown away by it. The things that she could do with her fancy pencils never ceased to amaze him. When he was just about finished, she showed him how to tweak the water and add in yellow/white to make the sunset also reflect on the waters surface. Letting their works dry for a bit, they smiled down at their accomplishments.

"I think I'm ready to hand it in." Sora said happily, one less assignment for the day.

"Yeah, me too." Namine agreed, standing up and grabbing her work.

Sora and she walked over to Marluxia, who instructed them to hang it up anywhere in the classroom. One of the things he liked to do is keep the works from all his classes on display. He'd get around to marking them later on. Just as they were picking spots Roxas showed up and tacked his up before either of them could properly choose. Staring at the finished project in awe, Sora wanted to know how someone could think up something like that.

"It's a pretty captivating piece isn't it, Sora?" Namine asked, smiling as she put hers up, and offered to do his as well.

"Yeah. It's...really good." Sora concluded, he wished he could be that good at drawing. Handing his over to Namine it just didn't seem right when she put it up in between hers and Roxas'. His seemed absolutely beneath the perfection Namine and Roxas had made.

"Yours is good too Sora." Namine tried to keep his spirits up. He seemed to feel a little indifferent of her placement for his work.

"But it's not as good as yours."

"Art isn't about 'good' it's about expression and feeling. It doesn't matter what people think, so long as you like your work. That memory made you happy, didn't it? It's a precious thing to you."

"Yeah, you're right." Sora nodded, "Thanks."

"No problem." Namine checked the clock, "Looks like class is over." the bell rang just as she announced that.

"I guess so." Sora was sort of glad the day was finished. At least now he could go home and majorly procrastinate in doing his homework. Gathering up his things, he made his way out of the classroom. "I'll see you later Namine!"

"Bye Sora!" Namine waved him off.

Sora walked out the exit that was conveniently right next to his art class. He'd survived the first day, and that was a feat all on its own.

"Just when I thought I'd gotten away..." Roxas sighed, commenting dryly on the fact that Sora had still managed to follow him even after the school day had ended.

"Hmm?" Sora looked around until he finally saw the blonde, "Oh. Did you think I followed you? Sorry. I was just...making my way home."

"Oh." Roxas seemed a bit surprised at that fact. So he'd been wrong. Well, that was a pleasant surprise. Walking past Sora he decided to go home as well. There was no point in loitering around the school. Besides, he was in a new town and may as well get to know his surroundings a bit more. Hearing Sora's footsteps behind him he chalked it up to the fact that they were just heading in the same basic direction. Hopefully not entirely.

"So, uh..."

By now Roxas knew that Sora was going to ask him something. "Just say it." he wasn't in the mood for people who didn't say exactly what they wanted to. Mincing your words got you nowhere.

"That picture from class...how'd you do that? It was so cool!" Sora really loved the odd figure in Roxas' drawing. Something about it was just so mesmerizing.

"You weren't watching me the entire time?" Roxas asked. More times than he'd like to admit, Sora and he had caught each others eye contact throughout the day. So he assumed Sora had seen him do it from start to finish.

"No." Sora shook his head, doing his best to match Roxas' quick pace. "I was so busy making my project that it was all I could focus on. And then Namine helped me, and we both ended up finishing around the same time. But when I finally saw yours it really looked amazing!" giving his praises to Roxas he hoped he wouldn't get angry.

"It's nothing special. Just a pencil and attention to details. Not unlike your color picture you did." Roxas didn't really see how Sora could be so into his picture. It wasn't anything interesting to him and it didn't really stand out from the get go. He drew the first thing that came to his mind; isolation. And it wasn't at all a bad thing on his end. He rather enjoyed being alone.

"Yours is way better than mine." Sora's wasn't as well drawn nor detailed. Even with Namine's help it still seemed overly simplistic.

"Peoples skill always vary." Roxas shrugged it off, why did he care?

"That's true." Sora agreed, "I just wish I was skilled at things like this. You seem like you're good at everything! Especially that really cool thing you did in the gym!"

Roxas was surprised at the sudden compliments flooding his way. "Wishing isn't enough. Setting goals for yourself and applying time and effort is the way to go." offering Sora advice was about the best he could do. "You really liked that stunt in the gym, huh?"

"It was the best thing ever!" Sora honestly didn't think he'd ever see something that cool ever again. "I also don't think they'll want to rematch you again."

"If you say so. But I don't really think it's that big of a deal." Roxas had some martial arts training that definitely won out in this case. Well, 'some' was putting it lightly. He'd learned multiple over the years.

"Maybe not to you! But they'll definitely remember it! I know I will!" Sora would be talking about this day to his friends for a while.

Roxas scoffed lightly, "Do as you like." hands in the pockets of his hoodie he walked side by side with Sora in silence. Turning to go left, he felt a bit surprised when Sora actually wasn't going the same way.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow!" Sora smiled and waved at Roxas.

Finally going their separate ways, Roxas let out a gentle sigh. Maybe Sora would get over his little obsession with him in the following week. However, that didn't seem to be a very likely situation. As stubborn as Roxas was, he wondered if he could hold out against Sora. He seemed determined that they be friends, and almost nothing he said or did seemed to deter that fact. Walking the remainder of the way home, he was grateful to finally be alone. Flicking on a few lights, he walked around the apartment he lived in. Sitting on the couch he absentmindedly wondered if people really were going to gossip about the whole dodgeball fiasco.

Somehow, it seemed like he'd already blown his plan to go unnoticed in the school.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: What a pain**

"That's crazy! You can't just...go around beating people up!" Axel vehemently argued with Roxas after seeing the chaos that had ensued with the other boy in question. All other onlookers had ran off once they saw what Roxas was really capable of, and it was a sight to behold. These poor guys didn't even stand a chance.

"Why not?" Roxas asked, shrugging his shoulders and frowning a bit at the downed boy on the ground. What was the harm in taking down some self-righteous ass who decided to try and look down on him for some reason? I wasn't as if he'd somehow directly provoked the individual in question. But challenging someone with the experience he had in fighting was nothing short of madness. To be sporting, he'd even given the challenger first swing. Not that it really mattered when Roxas effortlessly caught it and flipped him over in one graceful movement. The fight still hadn't stopped at that point. Considering the fact that his opponent had decided to go for a low sweep kick to knock him down. Roxas easily side stepped the attack and grappled his would be opponent, pinning him down and punching him a few times square in the face. A few of his friends had tried to join in, not that it really helped their cause. A leaping roundhouse knocked one into a locker, he spinning back kicked one clear across the room and the last one standing ran off.

Glancing over at his friend, he wanted an honest answer. Why couldn't he just take out idiots who decided he was some victim to be preyed upon?

"Because you get expelled for this kind of thing!" Axel could clear as day see blood on Roxas' hands. Some of it had even gotten on his clothes. How could he be so calm about this? Maybe it was the adrenaline. Roxas even had some minor bruising/cuts on his hand. Had he used so much force that it actually broke the skin on his knuckles?

"It doesn't matter. No one around here would miss me." Roxas readily dismissed his statement, shrugging his shoulders as he bypassed the redhead. He was sure some faculty member would come by any moment to take him in to the office. It likely wouldn't matter and would be a weak argument at best that he'd been assaulted first. A shove had been sent his way before all of this, and initially he ignored it. But the challenger stood in his way and did his damned hardest to ensure Roxas couldn't get past. He didn't have a choice and he wasn't pathetic enough to go running to the teacher for help.

"That's not true...I would." Axel admitted, unsure of if Roxas could hear that.

Had Roxas not put up with all of the drama and tedious antics of people he'd called 'friends' in the last little while, he may have considered that fact. But as he was, it didn't even get through to him at all. He kept on walking, resolving to face the music and deal with any punishment sent his way.

It was at this point that Roxas opened his eyes, gazing at the ceiling of his room in a mild state of bewilderment. Temporarily confused, as the dream he'd just had felt so vividly real, it took him a moment to realize he wasn't dealing with those people anymore. Good. It saved him the trouble of being in the principals office, being sent to the nurse office to receive medical attention and then explaining away the ordeal that had happened. Many speculated that he'd somehow started it, even though eyewitnesses contradicted that. Thankfully a few people had come forward, else he'd been charged with assault. Instead he got 'self-defense', forced to transfer schools and move to a new town.

Glancing at the time, he sighed and got up. There was still a decent amount before school started, but he'd still get ready and go early. It wasn't as if he had anything better to do, anyway. Making his way to the shower Roxas stared at his appearance in the mirror. Save for the messy hair he looked about the same as he always did- devoid of a smile and looking like he could kill at a moments notice. Taking off his clothes and hopping in the shower, he couldn't help but to think of his dream. Why now of all times had he thought about what essentially felt like ancient history? I didn't seem at all relevant now. He'd left that place and those people behind.

Suddenly the answer came to him. _Sora._ Letting out a light scoff it all became so clear. His subconscious clearly showed him why he didn't care for and didn't want 'friends'. If the brunette actually knew what happened in his previous school _,_ then he more than likely would have left him alone like Roxas had longed for. Speeches about why he 'needed friends' and somehow deep down may have wanted that sort of contact weren't going to win him over and he'd rather Sora stop wasting both of their time.

 _You try to make it sound logical to cut away parts of yourself._

He recalled someone had said that phrase to him. Roxas just couldn't recall at the moment who had been brave enough to say it. But at that point, their words positively meant nothing to him. Looking back on the 'old' him, he honestly felt embarrassed to say he'd ever been a 'Sora' type. Weak, naive, trusting of others, never seeing wrong and being unable to doubt those closest to him. Kindness was rewarded with betrayal and manipulation. And if Sora was correct on his notion that each person you met in this life time was an experience to make you learn some sort of lesson, then he wholeheartedly accepted the fact that he'd learned his lesson well.

 _People weren't to be trusted._

They took advantage of you, took every last shred of innocence you had left and showed you no mercy until you became a hollowed out shell. Some even had the gaul to turn around and ask what happened. Thankfully, he wasn't anywhere near that kind of person anymore. Shutting off the water and climbing out of the shower he let out a small sigh. Quickly drying himself off Roxas made his way back to his room and picked out an outfit for the day. Another black hoodie with a large hood to cover his head while in class, jeans and a grey shirt. It wasn't hard to see why some people said he dressed 'gloomy'. But he wasn't so superficial that he wanted to stand out and be acknowledged by others.

Roxas finished getting dressed and made his way downstairs. Getting himself some cereal, he ate it while preparing his lunch. Placing his dishes in the sink when he finished, he'd get to them when he came back home. Roxas grabbed his lunch and placed it inside his backpack, making his way out the door of his apartment. Locking it behind him, he already dreaded this day. Something about it seemed a little 'off'. For starters he never really dreamed, and the fact that old issues had resurfaced was an annoyance. Then there was dealing with Sora and his friends. Well, he'd only met the blonde girl, Namine. He had no clue who the silver haired boy was nor the redhead. But he was sure that at some point or other he'd have the 'pleasure' of meeting them.

Walking inside the school Roxas immediately made his way to his first class. It appeared Zexion had left the door open just in case any students had decided to come early. Convenient. Although he wanted to change his seat, Roxas didn't know the seating protocol around here and he didn't want to deal with some bratty teenager barking at him for taking their spot. He made his way over to his seat from the previous day and sat down. Taking out his notebook and anything else he may need for class, Roxas sat in pleasant solitude.

It would only be a matter of time before someone came and ruined it.

And sure enough Sora's tall silver haired friend walked in. Roxas didn't give him more than a one to two second glance over before returning his attention to his own thing. There was no need for interactions with this person, so he'd just pretend that he was still alone. However, it didn't seem that the feeling was mutual. Riku was definitely staring at him. "Got a problem? The say it outright." Roxas didn't beat around the bush.

"Yeah, I've got a problem." Riku didn't shy away from that fact. "You treat my friend like garbage and then I have to hear all about it later on."

"That doesn't sound like your problem to deal with. It sounds like you being a busybody and trying to resolve an issue you're not a part of. And if Sora doesn't like my treatment of him then he honestly can leave me alone. I've already told him I have no intention of making or being friends. It's all just bothersome and I'd rather spend my time doing things that aren't a complete waste. If you care so much for him, then tell him it's a lost cause." Roxas didn't care much for Riku's tone of voice when addressing him, not that his had at all been welcoming or 'warm' when he'd spoken first. But he honestly wasn't in the mood to deal with this kind of nonsense today.

"Yeah? Well I'm making it my business. Sora's too nice to tell you to back off, and for some reason he's made it his mission for you to be his friend, even if you aren't deserving of it." Riku didn't like the arrogance that came off from the blonde. It was actually starting to piss him off quite a bit. Part of him legitimately wanted to grab the shorter boy by the collar of his hoodie. But for the sake of not getting detention he abstained from doing so. "I already tried that. Like I said, I don't know why he's wasting effort on someone who couldn't care less."

"Don't you think Sora can make that decision for himself? If anything, I think he'd hate to hear someone thinks he's so weak that he has to be 'protected' when he doesn't even have the chance to defend himself." Roxas didn't know why he added Sora into the equation. Maybe it was just to piss off Riku a little more than he already was. "Is it really that you don't like him spending time with me, or are you just jealous that he _is_ spending time with me?" flipping it on the other male seemed to be entertaining as well. It also seemed very plausible that Riku could be jealous.

"Yeah, and what could you possibly know about what he wants? You only met him for a day." Riku scoffed at Roxas' accusations. "What's there to be jealous of? He doesn't like your treatment of him but he's enduring through it."

"Maybe he got bored of the boring people surrounding him and thought he needed someone like me. Someone who actually knows the way the world works, and doesn't paint pretty little pictures to try and make himself feel better. You can lie to yourself as much as you want, but I'll say things for what they really are." it was at this point that Roxas and Riku were locked into a glaring contest.

"Hey guys!" momentarily breaking from their intense staring contest, both looked over at Sora, who didn't seem to notice the tension in the air.

"Sora." Riku smiled and greeted his friend, "You're here early."

Roxas nearly gagged at the facade he put on. It was sickening to see how people quickly flipped from 'I'll rip your throat out' to 'sweet like candy'. For these very reasons, he became weary of others. Maybe he'd let Sora in on the 'fun' of knowing his friend wasn't exactly all that he was cracked up to be. "Sora." he nodded his head. Feeling the glare Riku sent his way, he nearly snorted.

"Hey Roxas!" Sora was pleasantly surprised that the blonde had said hello to him. He honestly thought he would been ignored or at the very least got some form of grunt to confirm that Roxas had heard and declined to reply. "Yeah, I woke up really early today. I don't know why but I was really excited to come to school!"

"Well, that's good, I guess." Riku definitely approved of Sora's attitude toward school. "Did you manage to get all your assignments finished?" he'd be pleasantly surprised if Sora finished all of them. He usually had to help him power through the majority of homework at lunch time.

Roxas couldn't help but to overhear their conversation. Mainly due to the fact that they were having it right in front of him, and he had no other distractions in the mean time. Sora liked to procrastinate, apparently.

"Yeah. I struggled with the math though. I'm not sure if I got it all done right even with your notes." the brunette frowned a bit, he didn't think he'd ever get the math thing down right.

"Are you sure? Maybe let me look it over." Riku offered, waiting for Sora to pull out his notebook.

"Don't laugh! I'm having a lot of trouble with it, okay?" Sora asked, sheepishly hoping he wouldn't get scolded.

"We'll see." Riku didn't give any promises. If Sora royally screwed up, even with what was essentially a cheat sheet from Riku's notes, then he didn't know what to do with the brunette.

Sora placed his notebook in front of Riku, who almost snorted and refrained from making the noise due to his prior 'promise'. "Sora. This is...completely...wrong." Riku frowned, "How did you even get this?" he blinked in confusion, waiting for Sora to properly explain the large string of failed questions in his book.

"Well...I didn't really know _where_ and _how_ to start solving this...your notes are too complicated!" Sora whined, feeling hopeless.

"But they _aren't_." Riku started by trying to show Sora the error of his ways. "See, right here you have to start off by using this formula and removing the letter."

Sora looked more lost than ever, and Riku couldn't help the annoyed twitch of his eye. Maybe this was hopeless.

Roxas let out a sigh and decided to take over, considering Riku was absolutely so useless that he couldn't even explain how to solve math questions. What was so hard about simplifying things for others? Sora was 'simple'. He wouldn't respond to saying things like 'algebra', 'square root', 'surface area'. Standing up, Roxas leaned over Sora's shoulder and began to explain. "You're using the wrong formulas here." the work was technically right, and that was due to the fact that Sora had used a formula for another question solving for that ones answer.

"Okay..." Sora was a bit surprised at the way Roxas was acting. But he was thankful that he'd shown some interest in helping him out. Staring down at his book, he honestly hadn't the foggiest clue on how to fix it.

Roxas saw the indecisiveness on Sora's face and took a different approach. Taking his pencil, he placed it in Sora's hand. "See, you're using this formula right here-" Roxas opened his notebook for reference and pointed to it, "-but you should be using this one." he instead pointed to the variant used in his solution to the problem.

"Oh." Sora was grateful that Roxas step by step was showing him what to do. It took a bit of time and effort on Roxas' part, but Sora was actually starting to get the hang of it. Even when Roxas wrote down practice problems for Sora to do on his own he solved them with minimal trouble and even got them done correctly. "Wow! This is so easy! You're really good at this!"

"With the right person anything is possible." Roxas stole a glance at Riku while saying that, in turn earning a glare from the silver haired male.

"I see what you mean!" Sora smiled, scratching the back of his head. "I'm just not good at this kind of thing."

"You seem like you've got it now." Roxas pointed out, using the page of completed and correct homework done by Sora as an example.

"All thanks to you." Sora smiled gratefully, "I owe you one."

"I'll bear that in mind." Roxas factually didn't need nor really want a favor from Sora. But anything to piss off Riku at this point was just gravy. He could only imagine how long it would be before the silver haired boy lost it and tried to come at him. That'd be an entertaining spectacle all on its own. Maybe he'd get expelled from another school.

"Okay!" Sora held his smile and nodded.

Roxas walked back to his seat and sat down. Feeling accomplished that he taught what one deemed to be a lost cause tenth grade math. Even if it was just the more basic 'see where you're at' questions given at the beginning of the year for teachers to see your weak points. Maybe Sora wasn't as dull as he'd originally thought.

" _You should be careful with that one, Sora. He seems a little off._ " Riku whispered it to his friend, not really caring if the blonde had heard the comment or not.

" _What do you mean?_ " Sora honestly didn't know what Riku meant. " _He seems a little different today...more friendly. Maybe he's just in a better mood? Or maybe he actually wants to be friends! He could have changed his mind you know!_ "

" _Yeah, maybe._ " Riku didn't want to worry Sora, he just wanted him to be more cautious around the blonde. Not that Sora really was the type to have his guard up around people. Even so he didn't want him to end up being taken advantage of. Least of all by Roxas.

"Hello boys!" Kairi smiled as she walked in. "You look really happy." she concluded after staring at Sora.

"He's made a new 'friend'." Riku spoke before Sora could.

"Really? That's good to hear!" Kairi failed to pick up the sarcasm that was laced into Riku's voice.

"What's good to hear?" Namine asked, finally coming into the room and setting her things down at her desk. She wanted in on the conversation that the group was having, and having only caught the odds and ends of what they were saying didn't have all of the context she needed to chime in.

"I think I made a new friend!" Sora declared with a smile. While he was decidedly happy about the situation and the girls included, it seemed like Riku was the only one to object to the idea. Not that he said his indifference aloud to Sora.

Roxas refused to comment, even when all eyes in the room settled on him. It was obvious they were talking about him, but he didn't want to deal with the brought up issue. So he'd given Sora help with his math homework, big deal. The main idea behind that was to piss off his behemoth of a friend who was sitting beside him. And as far as he knew, it had out most of their rambling, (mainly some odds and ends about how Sora had 'come in so early' and some giggling by the girls) he waited for class to start.

Eventually, Zexion wandered in and made every go to their assigned seating. "Those at the back of their row I want you to hand your homework forward. Those at the front, I want you to collect and form neat piles then bring them to me. I'll review it all shortly and see who needs improving and in what area." though he was speaking to everyone in general, the majority of the class got the idea he'd said it specifically for Sora. Who, for once was confident in his work. It had been looked over by Roxas, and he was really smart. Maybe the teacher would even think a little better of him.

Doing as he asked, Roxas handed his to the person sitting in front of him and everyone followed suit until Zexion had a multitude of stacks sitting upon his desk.

"Now each of you take a row that wasn't yours and distribute the books." Zexion ordered.

Each one complied and brought every student a book not belonging to them. Oddly enough, Sora ended up with Roxas' book, Riku had Kairi's and Roxas had Riku's. The brunette seemed happy with his luck of the draw, Riku didn't have a problem with his, but Roxas glared down at the book before him. He didn't even want it to be on his desk, let alone touch the object in question. But nonetheless, he had to.

Zexion wrote numbers one from twenty on the board. Placing the equation beside each number, he left an equals sign but the answers remained blank. "Those who I call come up and answer each question-" his eyes lingered on Sora for a moment, "-write down the answer from the owner of the book, regardless of if correct or not. We'll review each answer individually, and those who think they need help may come to me after we're finished." Everyone seemed happy with his explanation, and waited to be called upon.

"1. Roxas, 2. Sora, 3. Riku, 4. Kairi, 5. Namine," Zexion listed off names until all of the questions had a respective owner.

Roxas stood up and brought Riku's book along with him. He did it just for show, considering the answer had been correct. Quickly filling out the answer, he handed the black white board marker to Sora. Watching every student finish, everyone listened through his lecture, some raised their hands and pointed out flaws in some answers. Toward the end, Zexion got a few more jabs at Sora (not explicitly said toward him, but everyone knew).

"Now if anyone would like help, you may come to me individually. And do give the respective owners book back." Zexion sat down at his desk, "And work on the assigned questions. Sora, come here." the teacher beckoned his student.

Sora handed Roxas his book, and walked toward Zexion, quickly getting his book back from another student. "Yes sir?"

"How well did you do on this assignment?" Zexion asked, wondering how much work they'd have to do.

"I got all of them right!" Sora beamed happily.

"Is that so?" Zexion believed that Sora was pulling his leg. There was no way he'd gotten it all done right without cheating. "Let me see." Sora handed his book to Zexion, and patiently waited. To Zexion's surprise, it was written in Sora's handwriting. "Who gave you the answers?"

"Nobody. Well, not at first. I actually got some help from a friend." Sora sheepishly explained.

"Is that so?" Zexion asked, knowing fully well who his comrade in arms was. "So Riku took pity upon you once again, didn't he?"

"No sir." Sora shook his head, "Roxas actually helped me out. He made math really easy to understand. Usually everything's all so complicated and I have no idea what's going on, but he actually made it really simple."

"Roxas." Zexion raised his voice loud enough for the blonde to hear.

Making his way to the front, Roxas didn't waste any of Zexion's time. "Yes sir?"

"Did you help this one with his homework?" Zexion asked.

"Yes sir, I did." Roxas nodded.

"You can feel free to say 'no' on this matter, but would you be willing to tutor him in the future? I know he'll need the help, and I would greatly appreciate him not having to repeat the tenth grade." Zexion didn't want to put any pressure on his student, but facts were facts. Riku could only boost him along for finite amount of time. It was high time this boy learned he couldn't just place his burdens on others to slide by.

Roxas seemed to ponder it for a moment. "Yes sir. I'll tutor him."

"Thank you. Sora will very much be in your debt." Zexion let out a small sigh of relief. "I leave him in your ever capable care."

"Hey!" Sora whined, even though he knew it was true.

"If you don't mind, would you be able to start today? He may need your assistance once more for today, I'm sure."

"Of course." Roxas nodded, walking back to their desks when Zexion dismissed both of them.

"Roxas. Do you want to work together?" Sora asked, hopeful that he wasn't putting any burden on Roxas.

"I said 'yes' to the teacher, didn't I? Why do you need anything more than that?" Roxas got the sense that Sora was somehow very insecure when it came to him. Why, he didn't know. It wasn't as if Roxas did anything half-assed.

"Just wondering." Sora admitted.

"If you need my help be sure to ask." Roxas left it at that. Working on his questions, it took a few moments before Sora asked for help. Stopping his progress, he slowly explained the process behind answering the question breaking the equation down to its very basic core. Sora had seemed hesitant to ask, and Roxas was doing his best to be patient.

"Okay. I think I've got it!" Sora felt confident that the rest of the questions would be a breeze.

Roxas saw what he learned to be Sora's 'determined' face. It was one he had in gym, when he vowed to beat him in their race. Letting out a small scoff, he almost smiled. Not that he'd ever been very good at making such a facial expression. To think someone could feel so strongly about math. The idea behind it seemed completely ludicrous, and at the same time it very much was Sora.

Time ticked away for math, and soon they were in the gym.

"Alright. You all know the drills." Larxene came out and didn't bother wasting time.

Roxas and Sora stood side by side. Once more seeing Sora's determination, he decided to make it more interesting. "I'll say this right now-" Catching Sora's attention, he continued. "-there's no way _you_ can beat me."

"You watch, I will!" Sora didn't want to lose. He really wanted to beat Roxas.

Starting their five minute run, both boys gave it their all. Sora and Roxas had a remarkable amount of stamina that not even the seniors could keep up with. Pushing it to either ones limit, it was clear that Roxas was the winner.

"You're too fast." Sora said, disappointed as he lost.

"I learned to build up a lot of stamina." Roxas saw Sora's pout and found it comical. Sora probably didn't do near the amount of physical activity Roxas did, and it wasn't really a fair contest from the get go.

"And why's that?" Sora asked, while they completed their stretches for the class.

Roxas just shook his head and decided not to tell him. It wasn't embarrassing or anything, he just didn't want to get into the fact that he had a few different martial arts under his belt.

Deciding to keep it at that, Sora dropped the issue entirely.

"Today we're going to play basketball." Larxene said as she stepped into the center of the room. "You're lucky today. You get to pick your partners."

Evidently, she was feeling mercurial today. "Roxas?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Roxas asked, glancing over at Sora.

"I guess not." Sora laughed a little, "I wonder if we'll be playing games of two on two or something." considering they had to pair up it wasn't too far fetched.

Roxas shrugged his shoulders, "Just play to win."

"Got it." Sora nodded, eagerly wanting to impress his partner. Larxene soon made the pairs of two split off to see their current skill level.

Sora and Roxas were passing the ball back and forth, each working on trick shots. Sora got a few that were enough to impress Roxas a little. And Roxas completely blew away Sora by the many feats he could pull off with the ball. He wondered just how Roxas got to be so good at everything he did, even though the blonde would likely explain it away by saying 'practice'. Even with all the practice in the world, he wasn't sure if any of Roxas' feats could be replicated by any means.

Catching the brunette stare, Roxas was almost tempted to ask what it was he was stuck on. But now wasn't the time. "Show me what you've got." turning it into a competition, he wanted to see just where Sora was.

"Huh?" Sora asked, unsure of what Roxas meant.

"Come on, Sora. You can't be that dense." Roxas mocked him a little bit, tossing the ball to the brunette.

Sora saw that Roxas was absolutely serious in his challenge, so he nodded and started to dribble the ball. Making his way to the left, he saw Roxas go to guard him, but he still went for the shot. Jumping and tossing the ball, he was surprised when the blonde knocked it out of the air and simultaneously knocked him down. Grunting when he landed on his backside, Sora winced a bit at the pain. It definitely wasn't just a 'tap'.

"Again." Roxas grabbed the ball, not even giving Sora time to recuperate and tossed it when he stood up.

Bracing himself, this time Sora went for a little fake out when he ran toward the hoop. Roxas was still on his tail, and he wasn't so sure that there'd be any reprieve. He most definitely was being pressured, and Sora's speed often won out when someone pulled a stunt like this, but he wasn't so lucky this time. Once again knocked down, he felt a slight sting in his back side and gut. "Can you...try to be a little more gentle?" he asked.

"Score a basket on me and maybe I'll grant you mercy." Roxas shrugged.

Standing up and brushing himself off, Sora once again held the ball. Taking a deep breath, he dribbled it and ran forward, back, and side to side. What would be the strategy this time? If he went forward, Roxas would guard him and he'd be shoved. He couldn't space the entire time. He also didn't want to end up with another blow to the gut. Taking a chance on a distance shot, he threw the ball and saw it catch on the rim of the basket, teasingly tracing around the edge as it either fell in or out. Hopeful that it would do as he wanted, Sora waited. His heart sank when it fell and the ball bounced on the ground.

"This isn't working." Roxas frowned, how was he supposed to be partners with such a mild tactician?

"You're telling me..." Sora sighed, bowing his head in defeat. But he wasn't going to give up, he'd keep at it no matter how long it took to score.

"Are you finished?" Roxas asked, staring down at the brunette. If Sora gave up this easily, then he didn't want to be his partner anymore. Dealing with people who gave up at the first sign of struggle was nothing more than a waste of time. True, Roxas wasn't going easy on him, but he honestly didn't have any other way to teach.

"No." Sora shook his head, "I'm not." he had a renewed purpose; to beat his partner. "I don't care how many times you knock me down or I miss that shot- I'll keep at it until I get it." Grabbing the ball, he let in a deep breath and the moment he exhaled, charged forward. Roxas went to nudge him, but Sora pulled his body back and continued his valiant effort to score a basket. He wanted to show Roxas just what he was capable of, no matter how many times it took for him do so. This time it sunk into the basket. "Yes!" Sora couldn't help to smile and laugh, this time voluntarily fall to the ground.

Roxas let out a small scoff. To be this excited about scoring a basket. "No matter the odds, you don't have to give up. Overcoming your mistakes, that's the key. It doesn't matter how many times you fail, if you succeed in the end." Walking over to Sora, he offered him his hand. After that little display, Sora had earned it. Sora gratefully took Roxas' hand and his smile grew even brighter after earning that praise/advice.

"You were trying to teach me a lesson, weren't you?" Sora asked, wondering if that was the case.

"I was testing you." Roxas admitted, "I don't like people who aren't serious, Sora. They hold you back and people who aren't on the same page tend to get in the way."

"So...does that mean you like me?" Sora asked, pointing to himself.

"It means you're not a hindrance." Roxas corrected Sora's assumption.

"Oh. Well that's good too!" Sora liked the fact that he at least sounded useful.

"If you say so." Roxas found it a bit comical that Sora found the 'light' in everything. Averting his eyes when the brunette caught him staring, he quickly followed up with a change of topic. "At the very least I know we won't lose when it's the real deal." Not that Sora really seemed to notice. He and Roxas made eye contact a lot, so it didn't really seem out of place.

"Especially with you on the team!" Sora quickly gave his praise "I'm good, but I'm not _that_ good."

"Maybe you've never actually had a challenge." Roxas couldn't see anyone in this class giving Sora trouble. They weren't exactly the brightest in the bunch and relatively arrogant.

"Oh I don't know about that." Sora didn't like to belittle others, and he honestly couldn't say they weren't difficult to deal with at times.

"I do." Roxas wasn't impressed with the things he'd seen from their classmates. Not one bit.

Not saying anything more, Sora and Roxas practiced for the remainder of their time until the bell rang. Going their separate ways, both got changed and made their ways back to their lockers. "The offer's still open if you want it."

Roxas glanced over at Sora, not entirely cluing in on what he meant.

"If you want to sit with my friends and I at lunch." Sora explained.

"No, thanks." Roxas didn't like the idea of sitting with others. Grabbing his lunch, he shut his locker door and walked away.

After hearing Roxas' advice on not giving up, and mistakes would eventually lead him to his goal, he'd keep at it until Roxas eventually said 'yes'. They were going to be friends, no matter what he had to say or do to convince Roxas that they'd make good friends. Even if he got scolded along the way for 'bugging' Roxas he was still willing to try.

Seeing his friends and making his way over to their regular lunch table, he overheard a few things that Sora found strange.

"He got kicked out of his school." Riku clearly had been the one to instigate things.

"Really? Why?" Kairi found it strange. Though to be fair they barely even knew Roxas, so it could feasibly be true.

"It sounds serious. If it's true, that is." Namine added in. Was Sora's new friend actually trouble? She didn't want Sora to fall in with someone 'bad' and end up being kicked out of their school. Though without speaking to the person in question it wasn't exactly a good thing to make blind assumptions. Even if Riku had somehow found it out, they had yet to confirm such knowledge.

"That's not true!" Sora was quick to defend Roxas. It sounded absolutely absurd.

"Do you know that for a fact?" Riku asked. "Because last I checked he doesn't exactly give off an innocent demeanor."

"Well, no, I don't...but that doesn't seem right!" Sora may have wavered on the fact that he didn't know for certain, but he was determined to defend someone who couldn't do it for themselves. Not even bothering to hear the rest, he stormed away from the group and walked over to where Roxas was sitting. Not even bothering to ask if he could sit, he sat opposite the blonde.

"Someone's gotten bold." Roxas commented dryly. Seeing the scowl on Sora's face, he had to wonder if he was mad at something. "Alright. What's got into you?"

"Some people were saying things about you. That you were kicked out of school...nasty rumors. And I didn't like it." Sora gave him the short version.

"By 'people' you don't happen to mean your friends over there, do you?" Sora had come from that direction, and putting two and two together wasn't very hard. "And so what if it's true? It's not like it really matters. It doesn't have anything to do with you. You don't have to defend me, Sora. I can do it for myself." Roxas didn't really care enough to defend himself from that kind of thing anyway.

"Well...Riku was saying it, but I didn't think it was true." Sora admitted, "Is it true?"

"Does it matter if it is?" Roxas cryptically asked.

"What'd you get kicked out of school for?" Sora really wanted to know. How was it that someone did something so terrible they were removed from school?

"You know that neat little trick I did off the wall? Well, I can do a lot more than just nifty little tricks like that. Let's just say...I ran into some people...I guess you'd call them 'friends'. They decided that because they found out something about me, I wasn't likeable anymore. A bunch of them got together, decided to put on some big and macho display that ended in a few bruised egos. Trips to the hospital. Naturally it's safe to say we aren't 'friends' anymore, and I don't have any contact with those people." Roxas waited to see if this would be the moment Sora finally lost interest in him. Rendering a few kids unconscious tended to do that to a person.

Sora was speechless. Taking in the information, he wasn't quite sure on how to respond. What could you find out about a person that made you want to attack them? Roxas must have gotten them pretty badly, if they all ended up with trips to the hospital. "How awful for you."

"For me?" Roxas raised a brow. That wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting. "You did hear what happened to the others, right? All I had was a bleeding hand and even then it wasn't directly given from any of them. I managed to hit them in the 'wrong' way and it split the skin." Why would Sora see him as the 'victim' in this scenario?

"I did." Sora nodded, "But you lost your friends that day...even had to end up fighting them and that sounds really terrible. I could never imagine going through what you did. I also don't think I could ever do what you did. Well, losing your friends...not attacking mine."

"It's not as terrible as you think it is." Roxas shrugged, "It turns out...I like being alone. Everything I said still stands, Sora. People get in the way. They only think of themselves, and sooner or later they'll try to screw you over. It all just depends on if you're weak enough to let them break you or strong enough to fight back. It doesn't have to be literally. But in my case it was."

"Maybe you just didn't have the right people with you." Sora honestly believed in that fact. Roxas' 'friends' didn't exactly sound like true friends. Clearly their quarrel with Roxas had also left a lasting impression, as he 'liked to be alone' now.

"Speaking of 'people' shouldn't you go over there and apologize to your friends? You know, for jumping in on things you knew nothing about and getting so mad that you stormed over here?" Roxas couldn't resist the irony in the matter at hand. To try and defend someone you barely knew over something so trivial and boring. Why should he care at all? So Roxas had a past, and dealt with things before he came to this school and had someone desperately trying to befriend him. Everyone had different experiences. And even if he had a few bad ones at his previous school all of that became irrelevant when he came here. That is, until now he supposed.

"Right..." Sora couldn't deny the fact that they were owed an apology. Well, Riku at the very least. He hadn't said anything harshly to Kairi and Namine, for which he was very thankful.

"Don't stick around on my account." Roxas saw indecision on Sora's face. Clearly he was having a hard time going over there. Was Sora actually a prideful person?

"If you'll excuse me..." Sora stood up and walked away from Roxas, he'd have to apologize and explain the situation to his friends. How to say this? Feeling their eyes on him, he let out a small sigh. "I'm sorry!" Letting out his apology, he hoped they'd accept.

"And _why_ are you sorry, Sora?" Riku was the first to speak up.

"As it turns out...you were right." Sora fiddled with his fingers while he spoke.

"See? I told you. He's nothing but trouble. You honestly shouldn't be hanging around with that brat anyway Sora." Riku frowned at hearing the news. Sora barely even knew the blonde and yet he was willing to start a fight with his friends over him. Even going so far as to stomp over to him in a huff without knowing all of the facts.

"But I don't think that's true! He...he had his reasons! And even though he did get kicked out of school for it...I'm not saying it was the right thing to do, but he told me why." Sora honestly just wanted the passing moment to be over and done with. But Riku wanted to see to it that he not talk to Roxas anymore. Even if he was just trying to protect his friend, Sora could make his own decisions.

"I don't know all of the details, Sora. And maybe you know more than I do about the matter. But from what I've heard, he's not exactly innocent. Assaulting other students is a very serious matter." Riku couldn't understand why Sora was being so stubborn on the issue of Roxas. Ever since that kid transferred in, it seemed Roxas was his complete focus.

"I know that! I really do! But they didn't give him a choice!" Sora once again found himself defending Roxas.

"And how do you know that, Sora? Is it because he told you?" Riku's eye twitched from annoyance.

"Yes!"

"So, you struck out again, I'm guessing?" Roxas once again found himself sitting opposite of a gloomy looking Sora. It was an interesting little situation he was in, and why he felt the need to defend Roxas he honestly didn't know.

"Yes." Sora frowned, not looking up from where his head lay on their table.

"And what happened this time?" Roxas asked.

"He kept saying things...and I don't think he likes you very much." Sora sighed.

"The feeling's mutual. I don't like him at all." Roxas admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "Why does that matter? People are allowed to not like each other. It's unrealistic to try and get everyone to like each other."

"You don't like him either!?" Sora didn't know that either. Maybe he'd missed something this morning.

"Nope. Not one bit. He's actually pretty extremely annoying. I honestly don't know how you thought him to be 'friend' worthy in the first place." Roxas shrugged his shoulders, "Are you going to yell at me now? Or lock us in a room until we either kill each other or end up friends? Because in that scenario I'd bet on me."

"When did this start? I didn't even see you two talk to each other at all! And now I find out that you two hate each other...it's all so strange..." Sora trailed off, letting out yet another heavy sigh.

"Doesn't matter." Roxas wasn't about to rat someone else out.

The bell rang, and both went to their next class. Walking side by side with Roxas in silence, Sora brooded on what he was going to do. Riku didn't like Roxas, Roxas definitely didn't like Riku. If he ended up becoming friends with Roxas, then what did that mean for Riku? The two of them probably wouldn't stand being in each others company, and the whole time would be filled with arguing.

Taking his seat, Sora still couldn't help but to think about the many 'what if' scenarios between Roxas/Riku in the future. He didn't want to cause them trouble, or to have them constantly fight. And it was just as Roxas had said; he couldn't make them be friends.

Barely listening through the first portion of his class, a 'gentle' nudge from Roxas had him come out of his thoughts.

"Whatever you're dwelling on, stop. It's a waste of time and getting in the way of your studies." Roxas didn't sugar coat the fact that Sora was zoning out. After the long rambling session they'd gotten on their assignment/English studies, the least that Sora could have done was pay attention. Staring off into space did nothing but hinder him. Maybe this was why he didn't get very far in his classes- he zoned out to the point that he retained nothing.

"How'd you know I was thinking about something?" Sora asked, had he been that obvious?

"Because you didn't even bother to acknowledge my presence for the entirety of his lecture. You also didn't ask me about the assignment after the teacher had given it to us. I know you're probably trying to think up some fictional and improbable way for Riku and I to end up being friends somehow- but don't. As I said before, you don't need to butt in to situations that are none of your business. Stop being a busy body and focus on the situation at hand." Roxas didn't know why Sora couldn't just drop it. It was honestly nothing to worry about, and he had no reason to continue on from what had happened earlier.

"But-" Sora was about to argue, but Roxas' glare stopped him right then and there.

"No." Roxas said flatly, "Focus on the important things. I get that you're a person who believes they can balance friends and school. But if you're getting this hung up on things to the point that it's interrupting your studies, then you obviously can't handle the stress of both. What are friends going to get you, if you flunk your classes? Obviously they'll feel obligated to help you study for the next course, or make up for the fact that it _is_ their fault. Weed out the people that are toxic for you and let them go. You'll cause yourself a lot less suffering in the long run if you do that."

Sora couldn't help but to cringe at every critique about him. Roxas obviously didn't want a vocal response, so he nervously looked down to his notebook, and board for hints on what they were to do. A few minutes of time ticked away, and he felt that the situation was utterly hopeless. Maybe Roxas was right, and he needed to stop daydreaming. Sora had to disagree about his ramblings on friends. They weren't the ones currently causing him such troubles. It was Roxas. Not that his blonde companion probably knew that.

Roxas glanced over and saw that Sora was looking 'down'. Something about his facial expression made Roxas want to grant him mercy. Was it pity? Or was he actually starting to feel a sense of comradery toward Sora? No, that couldn't be it. Maybe it was just as he had said- somewhere along the line he was the root of Sora's 'not listening' problem, so he felt inclined to help. Whatever the case, he quickly scribbled down instructions on a small piece of his page and tore it off, handing it over to Sora. Frowning when Sora didn't immediately see his gesture, he flicked the side of his head.

"Ouch." Sora whined, earning looks from everyone in the room.

Roxas almost let out a snort and pretended to follow suit with the others.

"Is there something that you need, Sora?"

"No sir!" Sora shook his head, feeling his cheeks get hot at the commotion he'd caused. Relieved when everyone looked away from him, he let out a small sigh of relief. _What's this_? Seeing the small paper, he sent a grateful look in Roxas' direction. He wasn't sure that Roxas saw, but he immediately set out to complete their assigned work.

Roxas saw Sora's embarrassed expression, the way his cheeks twinged to a light pink. Somehow, he couldn't help but to stare. Sora always made interesting expressions that he couldn't help but to observe. Writing out the quick paragraph assignment they were given, class quickly came to and end. Three quarters of the way finished. The day couldn't come to an end fast enough. Collecting his things, Roxas made his way out of the classroom. Feel a slight tug on the back of his hoodie, he turned his head back.

"Thank you." Sora at first didn't make eye contact with Roxas.

"It was my fault, wasn't it? I was just correcting my mistake." Roxas brushed it off with logic. "There's no need to thank me."

"But without you I wouldn't have been able to get our homework finished. You've really been helping me out a lot, today. And I don't know how to repay you." Sora couldn't help but to display his gratitude. Smiling at Roxas was the very least he could do.

"You can start by letting go of my hoodie." Roxas pointed out as the pair walked into their art class.

"Oh. Right." Sora laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry!" A careless grin spread across his face while he took his seat beside Roxas.

"And what are we so happy about?" Namine asked, making her way over to the boys.

"I've been getting a lot of help from Roxas for today, so I'm saying 'thank you'." Sora said, smiling at his friend.

"Oh? What's he been helping with today?" Namine was glad that Sora hadn't been dwelling on his little fight with Riku earlier. Kairi and she had decided not to comment, as it seemed the boys had something that each wanted to say. Although she hadn't really met Roxas or developed that much of an opinion of his character quite yet, Sora seemed to really like him. And that was all she needed to know. Regardless of his background or whatever it was Riku had a problem with. They had to be supportive of their friend and his new endeavors.

"He really helped me to figure out math, to better play basketball...what our assignment was in English because I was daydreaming..." Sora sheepishly admitted the last bit.

"That's very nice of him." Namine said while looking at Roxas. Although he liked to act as if he wasn't listening nor interested in the conversation, more often than not Namine caught him staring and or listening in. Despite what he may have played it off as, he seemed to have an interest in Sora. Not that Sora seemed to notice as much as she did.

"Yeah!" Sora nodded in agreement. "I don't know what I would have done without him."

"Oh? Then you're very lucky to have him, aren't you?" Namine was surprised by that statement. No wonder Riku had a firm dislike of Roxas- he was a 'threat'. Maybe it was because Roxas shared all of the same classes with Sora, and seemed to be doing a better job as his makeshift 'tutor'. She could foresee some sort of rivalry if Sora actually succeeded in befriending Roxas.

"Yep!"

Roxas listened to their banter, and found it downright embarrassing. They spoke of him as if he wasn't right there, beside them. He may as well not be, considering he didn't ever add into their conversations. But even so. It wasn't as if they couldn't show him some common decency and try to speak to him once in a while. Even if this was their 'catch up' time for being missing for two classes out of the day. What could be left to catch up from when you shared lunch together? Well, Sora actually hadn't even been with them for the past two days. He ditched his friends just to be with Roxas. And yet there was no animosity from the blonde girl. In fact, she seemed totally supportive of the situation.

"Alright class. Today we're going to be doing something a little bit different." Marluxia announced when he walked in. "I want you all to pair up in groups of two or three. And then you're going to take pictures of one another, they'll be printed out in black and white and you'll draw self-portraits. Or, if you prefer, you can trade pictures an draw a portrait of each other. Your choice."

"Namine?" Sora instantly asked.

"Of course." Namine smiled and nodded.

"Roxas?" both expectantly looked toward him.

"Guess I've got no choice." Which was really his roundabout way of saying he was grateful to not have to ask someone else.

"Then it's settled." Namine concluded. Going up to the front, she grabbed a camera for them and quickly snapped a picture of Sora. "Your turn." She handed it over to him.

Sora snapped one of Roxas quickly and handed him the camera. Roxas waited a moment or two, then took Sora's picture. Sliding the camera in the middle of the trio, he waited for one of them to print off the pictures. Namine grabbed the camera and quickly took out the the SD card, sticking it into the computer and printing off their images. Returning with three separate images, "So. Are we going to do them of ourselves or someone else?"

"I don't mind what we do." Sora just hoped if he got someone else that they wouldn't mind the poor quality of his work.

Roxas shrugged his shoulders, signifying he didn't care at all.

"Alright." Namine flipped over the pictures of all three and mixed them up. "Pick one."

Sora's pick was Namine, Roxas got Sora and Namine picked Roxas.

Each of them fine with their respective choices, set about drawing their subjects. Roxas keenly observed the photograph before him and got a basic outline of Sora finished. It was a rough sketch but he had plenty of time to clean it up and redraw whatever he found needed to be redone. Feeling the stare of someone on him, he instinctively looked over at Sora. But Sora was lost in his own little world, dealing with his rendition of Namine. Looking over at Namine, he saw her piercing stare. Puzzled for a moment, he glanced down at her work of him. It was getting fiercely detailed. Maybe this was her 'process'.

Namine looked down at her picture and altered details as she came across them. The picture was great for reference, but having the real deal in front of her greatly helped her work. She wasn't sure what the picture would turn out to be; a simplistic for of blending/shading, or if she'd let it be a piece you had to see from a distance.

Sora was getting a little frustrated by how basic his looked compared to Roxas/Namine's works. He could see that already theirs were getting far better. "I think I need help."

"I'll say." Roxas saw what he was drawing and found it completely off. "You do know that you _can_ erase and redraw?"

"I do! But it never turns out right...so I kinda...got a little carried away." Sora admitted.

Roxas took Sora's botched drawing of Namine and quickly cast it aside. Getting him a new page to start on, he grabbed Sora's source picture of Namine. Folding the paper, he quickly unfolded it and began to draw squares along the page. "Don't look at it as the whole picture. Draw each individual square. And if you get really stuck, turn the paper upside down and draw that way. Some people do better when they do it like that." Roxas sat back down and went back to his work.

Sora found Roxas' advice was really working. His drawing of Namine was actually turning out to be a breeze, compared to how it was before. Just when Sora was finally getting into it and his drawing was really coming together, the bell rang.

"Looks like that's all the time we have for today. You're doing really well Sora!" Namine praised his drawing skills, "Take care of him, won't you?" she asked Roxas.

"Thank you!" Sora actually thought he earned her praise. He was proud of his work.

Roxas didn't know how to respond to Namine, so he didn't.

"I'll see you two tomorrow!" Namine waved goodbye, leaving the classroom.

Roxas packed up his things and walked outside without so much as a 'goodbye'. Sora quickly followed suit and caught up to him. "You should pick a time."

"For what?" Sora asked.

"I'm your math tutor, remember?" Roxas stated the obvious, "I can come over to your place or you can visit mine. I have no after school activities but if you don't have the time then we can figure something else out. Maybe lunch considering you spend it with me anyway."

"Oh, right!" Sora thought about it, "I don't have any after school activities either." Curious about where Roxas lived and what his family would be like, Sora opted for the second choice. "When would be good for you?"

"Any time is fine." Roxas didn't really have any plans. And he'd already committed to this.

"Then...how about today?"

"Today won't work, actually." Roxas shook his head, "How about tomorrow?"

"Okay!" Although he was disappointed for it to be delayed for a day, he was excited nonetheless. Going their separate ways, he was actually excited for tomorrow.


	3. Side Story Chapter 1: The Tournament

For all those wondering how/why Roxas got more street cred than Martha Stewart these 'side chapters' will explain quite a bit.

I also apologize for the short length of this one, I just couldn't for the life of me figure out what I wanted to write.

-Elegant

* * *

 **Side Story Chapter 1: Revenge**

"Look! All I'm saying is that you could keep your chin up! It wasn't as if that guy creamed you, anyway. Hell from what I saw you were the one seriously kicking some ass." Axel praised his blonde companion. Roxas had 'lost' in one of his fighting competitions, even though it wasn't exactly a fair panel of judges. Not to mention the fact that he'd been fighting someone who was his apparent superior, and the fight wasn't stacked in his favor from the get go. Maybe there was some solace to take in the fact that everyone thought he was good enough to take on someone who outranked him quite literally.

"I don't need a pep talk." Roxas rolled his eyes, scoffing a bit at Axel. "And I know that I was winning. He's just lucky daddy dearest had his back on the judges panel." He bitterly hated the fact that it came down to a tie, that was ultimately broken by the leader of the competition who was his opponents father. Whose bright idea was it to do something like that, anyway?

"Well look at the bright side- next time you can trash him in front of his dad and a bunch of onlookers. I'll come and watch. Then we can start a ruckus and you'll probably need to find a new dojo." Axel slung an arm around his best friend, grinning stupidly as he did so. "Won't that be better than a bullshit case of nepotism?"

Roxas let out a small snort, "Yeah, okay. And when I have to find a new dojo who'll be paying for it? Will you? Because I'm not about to get kicked out for something stupid." Even if he didn't outwardly admit it, Roxas was all for Axel's idea. There had to be some sort of recompense for the pathetically dull way he'd 'lost' his competition.

"Now I know you're the one who's lost his mind!" Axel joked, the pair skulking around their first class.

"It's all fun and games until consequences are involved, right?" Roxas asked, familiar with Axel's creed toward things. It must be nice to not worry about rules and regulations for the vast majority of your time. He could honestly say he had no idea what that kind of like was life. School was filled with rules, and so was home. It wasn't that he detested people having standards, or the constraints of rules- he just sometimes envied Axel's carefree lifestyle.

"Got it memorized?" Axel teasingly tapped the side of his head, grinning a bit at the blonde as he did so. "Seriously though- revenge, what are we gonna do to get back at that miserable little brat? Wanna go...egg his house?" There had to be something they could do. Roxas deserved at least some form of revenge, and if he wasn't gonna go all out just because they may hypothetically get in trouble, then Axel could fly it solo. What was the worst that they could say? 'Guilt by association'? Who's to say Roxas even had a hand in the revenge scheme? Maybe he did it completely on whim.

"Egg his house?" Roxas raised a brow, "Is that the best you could come up with?" He couldn't believe someone who was basically a career prankster just suggested they pull off one of the most textbook pranks. Axel could do way better than that.

"Hey! That was just a 'what if' scenario. I mean, come on, you never said you were in. If I knew that it'd be us pulling something off, then that'd make for one hell of a grand exit." Axel prodded slightly to see if Roxas actually meant he was in or pulling his leg.

"If you want me to join in- you better figure something out that's much better. And can't be traced back to either of us." Roxas wasn't in the mood for a few months detention just because he'd given in to yet another of Axel's schemes. Especially since he'd just gotten off from their last joined punishment. Since when had a superficial prank such as a stink bomb been an unwelcome thing in a school? It cleared a few floors and worse case scenario; everyone got to go home.

"Oh so you got a challenge for me? Alright. But you better not disappoint me." Axel semi-scolded his friend. Not that Roxas ever factually had let him down in one of their pranks, he just didn't want Roxas to back out for fear of detention or parental discipline.

"I expect the same." Roxas didn't back down from the challenge. When class started, only did he dare to daydream about the fact that he'd lost. Not that it really mattered when you had study hall, which was effectively a freebee 'complete your neglect homework' hour and a half class for procrastinators. Resting his head in his hand, he scowled slightly when remembering vividly his tournament from the previous day.

Roxas had been practicing, expecting to be pitted against someone from one of his Taekwondo or Ba Ji Quan classes, he was bracing himself for someone of 'low rank' yellow belt, much like himself. Working mostly on his kicks, he was going to use taekwondo to take on his challenger. Making sure his usage of high/mid/low blows were effective, he wanted to keep his opponent on their toes. He didn't want to appear 'weak' to any foe, which is why he dabbled in many different fighting styles, to make sure he had a back up in case they tried to pull something over on him.

Hitting the targets they had for practice, he was actually breaking a sweat.

A little bit in to his practice, he was forced to stop by his taekwondo master. As it turned out, there had been an 'odd' number of participants.

"Just pit Roxas against him. He's very advanced for his level. And I know that he'll at the very least do an average fight." Although the praise had been welcomed, and the honor that came of being selected to fight a very much higher ranked red belt, he had to wonder what his chances were of winning. If his master had this amount of confidence in him, then he had to be ready to take on such a challenge, right?

Heart pounding, Roxas made his way to the mat where they'd be fighting. It was here that he'd meet his opponent, and either lose or win what could be an important fight. Defeat a higher rank and he'd be seen as nothing short of 'prodigy'. Be defeated than a higher rank and some people would probably say it couldn't be helped in that situation. But he didn't want to do average, he wanted to win and blow people away. Too many people had invested their time and effort into him to be let down.

Roxas stood across from his opponent, the two of them giving a slight nod.

At first glance, his opponent was very tall. Roxas wondered just _how_ tall he was.

"Go!" The match was announced. To his surprise, his opponent went immediately for the throat. Roxas instinctively caught the punch and flipped his opponent into a compromising position, then kicked him. Letting out a slight grunt, his opponent switched up tactics. He ripped his hand out of Roxas' grapple and hit Roxas with a roundhouse, sending the blonde a little ways back. Refusing to topple over, he heard a slight praise from the judges for maintaining his balance. Roxas ran back on the mat, and found himself caught by a punch. Mentally scolding himself for getting hit and coming off as stupid- he had to recover. Going for a sweep kick, he meant to go high, but hit the other competitor much lower. Hitting someone in the solar plexus wasn't exactly welcomed, but it was allowed. Not to mention the fact that it had scored him some 'points' as he imagined it would.

Seeing the wind literally knocked out of his opponent, Roxas waited for what was to come. Some people may have seen that moment as their 'chance' to keep on assaulting, but he wasn't taught to be so guileless. Day one of any martial art was learning how to respect your opponent under any circumstance. Although recovery time was a bit slow, he finally saw some movement from the other male. His opponent started a barrage of kicks, Roxas was able to defend the higher ones, but the mids caught him gradually. Trying to recover, he blocked the high kick and was caught off guard by a low kick. Falling to his knee, Roxas looked up, to immediately be hit with a forceful shove that knocked him down.

Hitting the bottom of that mat, the end of round one hadn't gone how he'd have liked.

At the beginning of round two, Roxas and his opponent changed sides this time. Seeing multiple onlookers who'd come just for him, he couldn't afford the distraction. Doing his best to ignore them, he had to focus.

Starting with a strong kick to break the space between them, he barely caught the bottom of his heel and saw immediate reaction on his opponents face. When his opponent went for a grapple, he spun around him and quickly elbowed his opponent in the back. Roxas found himself grabbed by the shoulder and a swift knee to the gut ensured he was off his opponent. Roxas made sure that he didn't hit the bottom of the mat, enduring through a slight burning from the knee. Hit with what essentially was a windfall, he blocked his opponents attack and grabbed his leg, wondering what to do next. The logical thing was to grab a weak opponent in this situation and punish them severely.

In that moment of indecision, he was knocked down and the match ended.

Listening for any news from the judges, he expected them to say something about the illegal grapple that was used by his opponent. You couldn't just hold someone down and repeatedly hit them. To his somewhat annoyance, no comment was made toward it.

Round three both switched sides, and prepared themselves.

Roxas and his opponent punched at the same time, and both found themselves dumbfounded when they missed. Mirror matching with kicks, Roxas striking as hard as he could to try and keep up with the older, physically stronger opponent. Both of them had spammed the same kicks, going around the entire circular ring. Realizing both looked stupid, Roxas caught a high kick by the opponent and punched him in the stomach. Grabbing his heel, he did his best to knock him down and defeat the opponent. Technically he had, but at the same time not. His opponents hand had hit the mat and he used that force to get back up.

Roxas thought the round had finished, as he saw him hit the ground. His opponent got up and rushed at him, hitting with a low, mid and near high kick that failed to hit. Recovering, Roxas and his opponent both tried 'poking' their opponent, the other blocking such advances. Eventually, Roxas found himself grappled and a knee to his stomach again, faltering a bit. Roxas tried to hit him with a back faced kick, missing and easily punished. His leg was grabbed and he was hook kicked in the side, but Roxas wouldn't let this be the end of him. Roxas grabbed his leg, pulled him over, and his opponent fell.

Looking to the judges, they grumbled a little.

"Round three is over. That was unnecessary grappling."

 _Unnecessary?_ Roxas scoffed at their idiotic ramblings. It was a fight- you were supposed to and allowed to grapple your opponent. It wasn't as if he had, oh, he didn't know, grabbed him by the shoulders and kneed him in the gut a few times. Yeah, he didn't 'cheat' and get away with it like his opponent. Why were people who clearly had no idea what they were doing judging his competition? But he had no time for that, he had to think about what was to come. His victory, or his loss.

Round four started, Roxas and his opponent kicked with the exact same move. Hitting at the same time, Roxas looked up at him. His opponent looked at his leg, Roxas walked over and took advantage of the situation. Hitting him with his heel, his opponent went to kick Roxas. Roxas landed a blow to his shin, side stepping yet another kick. The advantage to being a shorter opponent, apparently. Eventually, his opponent resorted to a barrage of kicks that had Roxas faltering.

He went for a roundhouse kick, Roxas ducked under it and hit him with what essentially was a haymaker, forcing his opponent back. His opponent faltered for a little bit, and Roxas overheard one of the judges remark that he'd actually gained some ground, for once. Roxas did a step kick, as his foot came down, the heel of his foot hit his opponent back. Thinking it over, he knew that at the very least he'd get points as the previous rounds he hadn't really done very well. The round had to be coming to an end. Maybe they had a little bit of time left.

His opponent got back up, spinning as he did so, and his heel hit Roxas' shoulder. Roxas almost fell to the ground, grasping his shoulder. Kicking again, he faltered back a bit. Roxas grappled yet another kick, using a bit of his ba ji quan heichu punches to deflect another attack. Later, he'd have to fib a bit and say that they were taekwondo moves.

"That's enough."

Surprised, Roxas and his opponent stepped back.

"Fighters, take your positions."

Roxas and his opponent had no other choice than to obey.

Hearing the first round of judges for Roxas, their words were "Yes, no, yes, no."

For his opponent, they were respectively. "No, no, yes, yes."

"Wow! A tie! For this, we're going to need an outsider." The announcer seemed equally astonished along with everyone else.

Roxas let out a sigh, and tried to get over the hype. Looking over at the alumni 'judge', he saw the man over by the male he'd been fighting for the previous 0 minutes. He'd been praising the fighter, and when he used the word 'son', Roxas knew at this point it was basically over for himself. There was no coming back from nepotism.

"Sorry. But you still did well."

Looking up, Roxas wanted to see who the speaker was. To his not so surprise, it was the man who robbed him of what would have been his victory. Of course he chose not to let the 'better' fighter win. It wasn't as if being a lesser rank and holding your ground wasn't a big deal, or anything. Not even bothering to speak to the man in question, he turned his back on him and walked toward those who'd come to watch him.

"Dude! That was bullsh-" Axel found himself instantly silenced when Roxas' parents frowned at his fowl language. "I mean, that _really_ sucked."

"Yeah, it does." Roxas had to admit that it did. "But it's not as if I lost because of skill, or anything. I 'lost' because his dad was the fifth judge and tie breaker. Of course I wouldn't have been the winner."

"You still did great out there!" Roxas received pats on the shoulder from either parent.

"See? Parental bias." Roxas played it off with a light joke, but he was happy to get their praise.

Axel couldn't resist a small laugh that had been cut short when Roxas' mom looked his way.

He'd received a few medals, and that was the end of things. What good were medals, when you could have had a trophy? Many people had even agreed on the fact that it was ridiculous to have the other males father vote. A scowl made its way across Roxas' face. What wasn't there to be bitter against? He was also fairly sure that there was some mild use of karate in that fight.

"You look like a guy who's plotting some real good revenge." Axel piped up once their first class had finished. "Care to let me in on the fun? Or am I just going to end up pleasantly surprised when I have to give you an alibi? Because I'll do it, you know? The less I know, the less I can tell others and the more I can defend you."

Roxas heaved a heavy sigh. "I wish I was." He openly admitted, packing up his things. "What do you think I'm going to do? Kill him and his family? That's a little extreme. Especially over something like this."

"Hey. Whatever you decide is worthy of killing a person over or not is your business. All I'm saying is to keep me in the dark about it so I can maintain your innocence." Axel walked side by side with the shorter blonde, wondering just what he was thinking about that ticked him off. Was it the loss? Because there were already plans set in motion for them to get some revenge. Harmless, no killing spree fun. Even though it was a joke on his part, Roxas did have a look on his face that almost said 'murder'.

Roxas scoffed a little, laughed and held a bit of a smile. "Idiot." He couldn't help but to criticize and laugh at his friend when it came to situations like this. Sometimes Axel's idiocy was just too much to handle.

"Yeah, but I'm your idiot." Axel shrugged. "Like it or not, you're stuck with me." Being best friends ever since either one could remember, they knew it very much to be true.

"Of course I am. You know too much and you'd be an invaluable witness for the prosecution. We're bound for life." Roxas decided to keep the joke going, even as they went to their second class.

"If it isn't the dynamic duo." Hayner commented, seeing Roxas and Axel step foot into the classroom.

"You know it." Axel couldn't resist leaping into the conversation while taking his seat. "So. What debauchery has landed you in detention for today?" Out of habit, he readily assumed Hayner wrote something the teacher would 'strongly dislike'. And that was putting it lightly.

"Nothing." Hayner tried to play the innocent act.

"Right. Just leave us out of it." Roxas honestly wasn't in the mood to deal with a double whammy loss, then detention.

"Ah, that's right. I'll have to sit this one out. We've got things to do." Axel winked at Roxas, not bothering to elaborate for a confused Hayner. It was fun to plot in tandem with his best friend for a change of things. So seldom did Roxas actually stoop to his level, that he actually had to savor this moment. Although there was the slight challenge of having to find a prank that Roxas wouldn't find entirely 'juvenile'.

"And what's got you in a huff?" Hayner asked, seeing as Roxas was far more short with him than usual. Of course, he wasn't as close a friend to him as Axel, so it was a given that there was a shorter fuse when it came to him and his antics.

"Nothing important." Roxas grumbled, narrowing his eyes at the bitter memories of a loss.

"Yeah, so don't worry your pretty little head about it." Axel shrugged, if Roxas didn't feel like sharing, then he didn't feel inclined to let others in on the secret. Not that it actually was a secret, after all. Maybe he was also a bit pissed that some of his friends didn't come along to see the crap he had to put up with at his tournament. Well, maybe it was a mixed blessing.

"Alright..." Hayner trailed off, not bothering to delve further into the current situation. So they didn't want to include him in on their current situation, no big deal.

Soon the bell rang, and their second class was in session.

The teacher walked in, made everyone sit down, and they all prepared for a very long, very boring English lesson. Naturally, all expectations were met when the class was lectured on what a well structured essay looked like in form and how to properly construct one. Considering the subject matter of their lesson plan, everyone could guess what they'd have to do next; a very lengthy essay. The reprieve was the fact that it could be on whatever subject matter they'd like- within reason. At that note, Axel had snickered, as he and Roxas knew fully well who the teacher was talking about. But Axel's amusement wasn't welcomed.

Roxas knew exactly what to write about; how bias affected peoples judgement. Writing out the introduction, he was making short work of their would be homework. A few supporting sentences in, he knew he was on to something. Bias made people blind to situational awareness, and that wasn't a very welcomed thing to deal with. Things like 'love' tended to cloud others judgement and make them do foolish things that people ordinarily wouldn't. Outwardly, Roxas would never admit the fact that he'd never felt that way toward anyone. There wasn't any sort of platonic relationships in his life. 'Friends' and 'Family' obviously didn't count toward 'love' because a familial bond was different from what he thought of.

No matter who you spoke to, people always brought up many different definitions of what 'love' meant. Almost always starting off with the phrase 'Love is...' and finishing it off with something meant to have a great 'depth' though it often came out as something shallow and dull. For Roxas, he silently wondered what such an experience would be like. Someone who made him outwardly foolish, that he wanted to monopolize more than anyone else, who he never wanted to share- could such a person exist?

 _Am I a possessive person...?_

The thought had never really occurred to him, before.

Roxas honestly had no answer for the question, either. He'd never met a person who had him so enthralled that he wanted to be the only person they thought of. The only one that they wanted, and no one else. Absentmindedly, he had to wonder where these thoughts were coming from. Had he overheard something that stuck these pointless stigmas into his head? It all sounded like a familiar/odd romance novel. It definitely couldn't have come from Axel, maybe he'd overheard his mother reading some drivel along those lines? In any case, it didn't matter.

Working on finishing off his essay, he didn't want to be stuck with homework for the weekend. With all of the cynicism and annoyance he had to the subject matter of his essay, it seemed the pages were basically filling themselves in. Roxas was also careful to not recycle the same materials and bore the reader/get less marks on the assignment. Glancing at the clock, he actually felt relief when it rang just as he'd finished. Handing in the few page essay, he walked out of class feeling accomplished.

"How'd you manage to get yours finished? You sell your soul to the devil or something?" Axel honestly couldn't believe how fast Roxas cranked out a 6 page double sided essay in an hour and a half. He had to be the pinnacle of evil, a devil, or something inhuman to finish something off so quick.

"No. I just happened to have a lot to say, and the assignment gave me that 'voice'." Roxas shrugged his shoulders, "I take it you're going to want my help on yours, aren't you?"

"Maybe." Axel shrugged his shoulders, giving Roxas a carefree grin as he did so. "You willing to bail me out, buddy? Considering I'm going to help you with your little problem, maybe it'll be payback?" He suggested the last bit just for a bit more incentive on Roxas' part. Axel knew fully well that Roxas was more than willing to bail him at out at any given time, he just liked to more or less have a 'reason' to do so.

"So, guessing by your typical 'work ethic'- if you could actually call it that...you slacked off entirely on the project, and want me to write the whole thing in exchange for your 'help', right?" Roxas knew exactly how an arrangement like this would go. It wasn't that he really minded at all having to redo the same tedious assignments, he just liked to say things for how they were. Axel slacked off, Roxas enabled him to do so, by helping him to pass courses. It didn't help that teachers knew about their little 'arrangement', but without proof they couldn't exactly do anything about it.

"Just don't try to make it sound too smart." Axel joked, "Come on, you know you like bailing me out. I keep that brain of yours working double time. At least we know it won't go to waste."

"Axel, ever the caring best friend." Roxas rolled his eyes, scoffing a bit. "Fine. I'll do it."

"That's what I like to hear." Axel couldn't resist a small laugh at Roxas' reaction to the situation. He always put up some sort of fuss, and acted as if he actually cared, like an assignment wasn't so utterly beneath him. Truth be told, Axel could have easily done it on his own, he just didn't feel the need to do so. Not when he had someone else who was very willing to do all of the work him. "What would I do without you?"

"Flunk out of school, more than likely." Roxas stated the obvious. Axel liked to screw around and play most things off as a joke, but Roxas didn't see that really carrying through in the 'real world'. Pranks and tedious things were fine to do during your juvenile years, but surely a person had to learn sooner or later these things got them nowhere in life. Not that high school taught things completely applicable to 'real life' situations, as most of it ended up being completely irrelevant toward the end. What practicality did things like wood/metal shop apply to the real world? None. That is, unless you wanted to be a carpenter or something along those lines. But if you didn't like nor care for the subject in question, then obviously you were going to suffer through it.

Maybe that was part of the reason he helped Axel so much. He could understand the dislike of subjects. Even so, there was nothing much to be done about the schooling system. Who'd listen to adolescents? Nobody.

"Hey! Earth to Roxas! You in there, somewhere?" Axel asked.

"Huh?" Roxas blinked in surprise, seeing his friend stare. A puzzled expression quickly crept across the blonde's face.

"You looked totally zoned out there for a little while. I had to see if you'd found out some way to fall asleep with your eyes open or something- I'd like to learn a trick like that. At the very least it'd save me a few boring lectures...or detentions. Whichever." Axel shrugged his shoulders, playing off potential punishments with little to no regard at all.

"I'm not sure that that's actually a thing." Roxas knew that was a 'recurring gag' for a few things, but honestly didn't know if it was feasibly possible. Plus, lots of people tended to do strange 'mannerisms' while sleeping, i.e. snoring, drooling, sleepwalking- it didn't seem ideal to try and 'sleep with your eyes open'. You'd also have to be pretty confident to try and pull one over on the teachers.

"Eh, maybe you're right." Axel thought that a person would probably look ridiculous while attempting such a thing, anyway. If anything, it would be creepy.

"Naturally." Roxas sighed and looked at the clock. Only a bit more until their next class.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Supernatural**

He'd caused quite the stir, the previous day.

Roxas couldn't help but to wonder if there was anything at this point to 'regret'. The mantra of 'new school, new me' obviously wasn't working out. Not that he really was going to reinvent himself, or remotely try. His 'plan' so to speak had been just to try and blend into the background. To be that one kid in class people 'knew' but couldn't really recall. In his new high school he was to be nothing more than a nobody, someone who absconded from social obligation, and dared to be alone. Of all the contingencies he had in place, he never once thought of a 'Sora' type doing his damned hardest to try and ruin everything. Nor the behemoth of a friend who was always with him and yammering about 'Sora this, Sora that'. Was this how people played off typical friendships? You 'offend' one and the rest of the group has to all take turns trying to psych you out?

No, that wasn't exactly true, as Riku was the only one to really 'lash out'. Roxas had provoked him, but he had gotten the sense that he wasn't exactly 'welcome' in his presence. Not being in the mood to deal with petty antics, of course he stated his intentions outright- who the hell did that behemoth think he was? They didn't even know each other, and having heard some offhand comments from Sora, he made a judgment that wasn't exactly 'fair'. Not to be taken the wrong way, Roxas wasn't offended by that, he just couldn't stand people like Riku. They jumped into fights that weren't their own, tried to get in the middle of everything, as if that would solve anything. _  
_

Maybe this was another 'sacrifice' on Sora's part to ensure that they ended up friends- enduring through all of the harshness Roxas put him through just for that faint hope. At the very least, he couldn't give him any demerits for his resolve and perseverance. Charging toward a goal, no matter the odds- who could ever belittle a person for that? Not that he'd ever admit it out loud, Roxas saw another parallel between him and Sora; stubbornness. Scoffing a little bit, he had to wonder who'd win their little struggle. Little by little, Sora was worming his way into Roxas' world. So maybe he would end up losing their fight.

Even so, at the end of it all, _Sora didn't like the way he was treated by Roxas._

And that was owing to the fact that Sora didn't really even know the first thing about him. Roxas liked it that way. 'Sharing' the tidbit about him fighting several classmates from a previous school and hopping towns had been a last ditch effort to try and sway Sora from thinking he was a 'good person' and someone he generally wanted to be around. There was no shame in finding out people weren't all they were cracked up to be. That they could turn on you at the flip of a dime and completely disregard years of comradery. But Sora didn't seem like one of those disagreeable people- he persevered no matter the odds, and regardless of the treatment he received, he kept at it. Just what was Roxas to the brunette? What made him so dead set on the fact that they be friends?

They had little to no similarities, save for the fact that they were both athletic. His cynicism toward the matter didn't seem to do anything to deter Sora in the slightest. Some people just honestly didn't know when to 'give up'. Maybe Roxas had been sending him mixed signals, what with aiding him in his homework and showing him what could be construed as 'kindness'. And despite what Roxas had heard about Sora through the majority of his classes and peers- he wasn't an idiot like played off to be. Clearly nobody had even bothered to try and simplify things for him to the point that he could understand and correctly learn. Sora seemed to be highly underestimated due to the fact that he was 'simple' and likewise needed those kinds of explanations to be able to move forward.

There was no shame in being a little 'slower' than the others. But there was shame to be found in those who belittled him for that. Maybe it humored other students, and Sora was moderately okay with it, but he honestly found that behavior disgusting. Why was it so hard for some people to actually be _nice_ to another human being?

Of course, he could take a little of his own advice.

Walking to the 'spare room' of his apartment that he'd turned into a training room/gym, he wanted to practice for a bit. At the very least to see if his skills were slipping or not. Roxas would have to look into martial arts and see if any were offered in Twilight Town. Starting from scratch wasn't the most welcomed of ideas, but he could at the very least try something new. Maybe work a bit more on karate...that was a possibility.

Flicking on the lights, Roxas immediately made his way over to the equipment he'd need for the short session. Taking in a deep breath, Roxas made sure he wrapped his hands properly, as he didn't like the idea of splitting the skin once again.

Once they were secured, he started to hit the punching bag in front of him. Apparently he had pent up rage. Each of his hits sent the bag flying out of its anchored position. Roxas started off his training by using the standardized flying front kick all Taekwondo users were familiar with. The punching bag flew back, and he used the opportunity to work on his Two-Hit Crescent Kick. Once satisfied by his technique, he moved on to low/mid kicks following up into the flamingo stance. Although it was ideal for Taekwondo practitioners to use, if someone were to knock out your balancing leg, then it was lights out. One of the cons of using the punching bag was that he couldn't work on his grappling. Maybe this was one of those moments Sora was right that Roxas 'needed another person'. Shaking his head, Roxas needed to cast away such useless thoughts.

Only with a clear head, could someone effectively use their arts. There was no time to fiddle around with ideations.

Scowling at the punching bag, as if it had been the source of his lack of concentration, Roxas let out a little more effort into hitting it than perhaps he should have. Switching into his Ba Ji Quan teachings, he decided to work on punches. Although the stigma for Taekwondo was that you were kicks galore, there were punches to be used. Obviously not the ones he was about to use, as they were from an entirely different martial art. But they had saved him once or twice when he'd been competing. Hell, it was easy to say that he'd been using a Taekwondo technique when it was Ba Ji Quan. Who'd know the difference? Even his own master agreed that he'd been using Taekwondo. Maybe he knew the entire time and just decided to help Roxas fib once or twice. Inhaling and exhaling in between each of his Joho-Heichu punches, he held in a breath at the end of the set. Taking a low, almost crouching stance while straightening out his left arm, the right bending at not quite a 90 degree angle, he exhaled and let out a small 'battle cry'.

Although he hated distractions, Roxas couldn't help but to crack a smile and laugh for a good little bit. His former Ba Ji Quan master, when showing her students how to perform that action would always make a 'Haaaah!' noise while doing so. If she saw him right now, she'd probably give him a good scolding and demand to see just how well he was doing at blocking/grappling his opponent. 'Punishment' for making a mockery of your superior. Satisfied with his usage of Ba Ji Quan/Taekwondo, he decided to wrap things up. Hitting the bag once or twice more with a roundhouse, he gave up on training for the morning. Taking off the wraps on his hands, he discarded them and made his way to the front door. Grabbing his shoes, he sat on the stairs and untied the laces.

Putting each one on, he tightened the laces as far as he could and made sure they were to his liking. Satisfied, he walked to the front door and promptly stepped out into the hallway. Shutting and ensuring the door was locked behind him, Roxas made his way outside and began to jog. With no place in mind, he took off in whatever direction he thought was best. It wasn't as if he had anything better to do, and he needed to make sure his stamina was still at a good place. There were a few hours before school started, anyway. Taking in the scenery, he absentmindedly ran into a wooded area. Resolving to find out what was at the end (if there was one) he was eventually rewarded with what seemed to be a mansion.

At first glance, the place didn't seem to be all that special. Cracked windows, overgrown plants all around it, a rusted gate 'protecting' the entrance with what seemed to be a barely secured lock. Maybe for its time the place had been very luxurious, but it seemed time wasn't kind to the estate. Nor were the owners, apparently.

"They say it's haunted."

Startled, Roxas looked over at the speaker. Namine smiled kindly at the blonde boy, as if it were perfectly natural she met up with him in the woods, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

"I didn't mean to scare you." Namine added.

"I just wasn't sure who was speaking." Roxas shrugged it off, playing the situation down. "And I don't really believe in ghosts or anything along those lines." He'd never been one to delve into the supernatural, but lots of people at his school loved their pass times of ouija boards and childish nonsense. To Roxas, they seemed like nothing more than childish stories to 'explain' things people didn't understand.

"Of course." Namine smiled, nodded and let out a small laugh. "You don't?" Namine folded her arms behind her back, "I like to believe that there are mysteries out there, that not even we can understand. Isn't there some part of you that has a curiosity to see the inside, and find out for yourself?" To be perfectly honest, she herself wanted to venture inside. Maybe today would be the day that she did so.

"No, I don't." Roxas shook his head, "Wouldn't the owners be annoyed that we were breaking and entering on their property?"

"I don't think we'd have to worry about that- this place has been abandoned for a very long time." Namine walked closer to the fence, smiling over at Roxas as she opened the rusted iron gates.

"I really don't think you should be doing that." Roxas honestly didn't think this was the way he'd be spending his morning. Sora really had odd taste in friends.

"I'm not scared, you're with me. You will come with me...won't you?" Namine asked, head cocked to the side as she did a semi-pleading look.

Roxas didn't know why she felt a compulsion to go in. To be honest, he vaguely felt one, but now honestly didn't feel like the time. They didn't know what the inside looked like, nobody knew where they were, and if they got into trouble, then there would be no one to bail them out. He didn't even have any family in town, and he knew very little about Namine in general to know if she had anyone. Sighing at her insistence to go in, he decided on a compromise. "How about...later on today? You can round up anyone else you want to join in your little adventure...and I'll come along, if you want." Offering to go seemed like the logical thing. He couldn't let her go alone right now, and giving her the option of doing so later with others seemed like a better idea.

"Alright." Namine nodded, "I'll get the others to go. I'll also figure out a good time for us all to meet...is there any restrictions on your end that I need to know about?"

Roxas thought about it, "No. I don't have anything to do after school." Well, maybe train a bit more, but that was honestly about all that he could think of for himself to do. And then it hit him- _Sora._ "Actually, I don't think I'll be able to do it today, after all. I have plans with Sora, and I don't think he's the type to want to investigate haunted houses." Well, maybe to get out of being tutored/learning math, maybe he was. Sora just seemed like the person to freak out in that kind of setting.

"Sora? I think he'd actually like to come along as well. Especially if he knew you were going. He'd be in for sure if he heard that." Namine honestly couldn't see Sora turning her idea down if Roxas came along.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roxas found it a little strange that Sora would agree to something solely because he knew Roxas was going.

"Oh, nothing." Namine shook her head, "Don't worry about it- just leave the rest to me and be ready to go." Shutting the gates, she smiled at Roxas. He seemed a little hesitant when speaking to her, maybe he found her strange. But there was meaning behind her actions, not that she was about to give it up to Roxas.

"Alright..." Roxas let out a sigh, "I'll be ready." Glancing around the forest, he saw no companion with her. "Are you okay to be alone? Do you need me to escort you anywhere?"

"No." Namine shook her head, "I think I'll be alright. You can go on ahead and finish your run."

"Okay..." Roxas took her word for things. And, honestly, he just wanted the moment to be over with. Retracing his steps until he ended up back home, he climbed into the shower and wondered why things had been so weird around him lately. The answer always came up the same; _Sora_. Not that it really mattered, as he'd probably never get away from Sora and his group of friends. The more he struggled, the more he was dragged in to strange situations. Like his former companion- where had Namine come out from? It was a hell of a coincidence that the pair of them ran into each other, let alone in the woods. A mystery he'd probably never get the answer to.

Making his way inside, Roxas quickly kicked off his shoes and made short work of the trek to his bathroom. Peeling off his sweaty clothes, he tossed them into the hamper he kept in the bathroom. Turning on the shower, he quickly climbed in and set about cleaning himself off. Taking in deep breaths, he worked on slowing down his erratic heartbeats. He couldn't really blame himself, he'd already had quite the eventful morning. What was he supposed to do in the 'haunted house'? Did he have to bring along special items of some sort, or were they all just winging it? He supposed that a flashlight must be a given, considering the outward state of the building, it wasn't too farfetched to assume the inside would be dark, dank, and uninviting. What did Namine even hope to accomplish by getting her friends together to go with her?

Shutting off the water, he climbed out and promptly began to dry himself off. Staring at himself in the mirror for a moment, he compulsively fixed his hair. It'd still end up messy, but this way it wouldn't seem quite as unkempt. Walking out of the bathroom, he walked into his room and went through his clothes, finding an outfit he deemed acceptable. Baggy jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and a hoodie. Thankfully, he never seemed to run low on the dark pull over sweaters he enjoyed.

Making his way downstairs, Roxas quickly prepared himself a breakfast, sitting and eating alone. Periodically, he'd glance at the time. Even though there was still so much time left, he resolved to go school to early. Placing his dishes in the sink, he grabbed his bag and walked out the front door. Sighing to himself, he briskly walked to school and once more let himself in the empty classroom. Sitting as his desk, he placed his notebook, a pencil and an eraser in front of himself. Looking through his backpack, he frowned when he remembered that he'd forgotten to put an alternative light source in it. He had his cellphone, but it could still die in the middle of their trek through the house, so he wanted something a little more reliable.

Cursing his own stupidity, he'd just have to do without.

"Hey Roxas!" Sora smiled happily as he came into the room.

Obviously his friends hadn't gotten around to the 'haunted house' subject quite yet. "Sora what are your feelings on ghosts?" Perhaps out of morbid curiosity, he wanted to see if his assumptions on Sora being completely freaked out were correct.

"Ghosts?" Sora froze for a second, "Why...are you asking about ghosts? Did you see something?" He cautiously asked, looking around the room.

"No." Roxas shook his head, "Just curious." He tried to downplay the situation, considering Sora seemed to be getting antsy. Of course he didn't like 'ghosts'- the concept of dead people roaming the earth for unknown reasons and in some cases haunting the living. Roxas himself didn't believe in such faulty concepts, but Sora obviously felt differently.

"Oh..." Sora let out a nervous laugh, sitting beside Roxas. "I uh...I prefer to stay away from them."

"So you believe in ghosts?" Roxas decided to quiz him as much as he could before the others showed up an generally ruined the moment.

"I do." Sora nodded, "You don't?"

"No." Roxas shrugged his shoulders, "I don't really buy into it when people say they 'saw something' or 'heard _'. There's logical explanations to all of it. Just because you feel a chill on the nape of your neck doesn't mean that there's some dead person nearby. People tend to exaggerate when fear comes into the mix. It's one thing if multiple see one thing, but if it's just one person...then they honestly could be seeing what they want to see." Lots of 'believers' came up with shotty 'proof', at best. Blurred images and specks didn't really do it for Roxas. Nor did incoherent recordings of 'spirits speaking'.

"You think so?" Sora wasn't so sure, even if Roxas seemed certain ghosts weren't real. He believed that there had to be 'more' out there, despite what some people may think, maybe there was more than just humans sharing the world.

"I do." Roxas looked over, and Sora seemed content with his answer. Maybe he felt less afraid knowing someone else said that they weren't an actual thing.

"If you don't believe in them, then why are you asking?" Sora genuinely wanted to know. It was a strange topic to bring up, especially if you felt indifferent toward the subject.

Roxas let out a small sigh, and turned to completely face Sora. "Apparently there's some haunted house in town- your friend wanted to go in, but I suggested it be done at a different time...and she wants you to go with her. Well, not just _you_ but the rest of your group. And I'll be going along." He had promised Namine that he'd go, so it was a little late to try and back out now.

"They...want to go exploring...a haunted house?" Sora tensed up a bit. "You're going along?" He asked, looking a bit hopeful at that fact. So long as there was a large group, then there'd be nothing to fear...right? Even if Roxas was wrong about ghosts, then there had to be strength in numbers.

"Well not so much 'they' as I ran into Namine this morning. She had a really keen interest in going inside, but I told her that it'd be better to do so later on. Maybe even after dark, if she wanted to try and see a 'ghost'. Yes, I'm going." Roxas wanted to see if Namine's theory about him going made Sora more inclined to do so.

"I'll go, too. Somehow...it seems a lot less scary if you're going." Sora sheepishly admitted. It honestly didn't seem as terrifying were Roxas to be going. He just felt safe knowing that he was coming along.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roxas decidedly felt a bit embarrassed hearing Sora's confession that he felt safe around him.

"I don't know." Sora admitted, "I just feel better knowing that you're coming along." Smiling at Roxas, he didn't know how else to put it. There was just something oddly comforting knowing Roxas would be tagging along.

Roxas didn't know how to respond to that comment, so he turned away from Sora and faced the front of the class. Did he always have to utter carefree, embarrassing phrases? Thinking it over, he wanted to know _why_ someone thought they could be safe with him. Let alone someone he treated with indifference. Maybe it was because he'd told him about the fact that he beat up a bunch of his old 'friends'. Not that such a statement should ensure confidence in someone he never called 'friend'. Logically speaking, if you were to hear such a thing about someone who supposedly had a likening to the people he'd done such things to, then how could you feel 'safe' around them?

To be so trusting of someone you barely even knew...he could only equate it to madness.

Sora wanted to say something to Roxas, but he had no idea how to remotely start. Judging from the way Roxas turned away, there'd be no point in trying. Sitting idly in the silence, he tried to keep himself busy. "Riku! Kairi! Namine!" Welcoming each of his friends as they entered the room, he was glad to have the distraction.

Riku promptly sat beside Sora, but he didn't seem too happy about it. He also didn't bother to respond to his greeting.

"Good morning, Sora!" Namine could see the tension between him and Riku, and she just wanted to do her best to gloss over it, for Sora. Maybe now would be the best time to invite them.

"Morning Sora!" Kairi smiled, though she could immediately sense the tension. Clearly their spat from the previous day was still going on. Riku really didn't like Roxas, apparently. How long was he going to shun Sora for? She honestly hoped that it would fly by, she hated to see Sora and Riku in a situation like this. Actually, she couldn't recall a time that she _had_ seen them like this.

"Good morning!" Sora did his best to cheerfully return their greetings. Glancing over at Riku, he was met by a scowl. His smile faded a bit, but he decided to try and not dwell on things.

"So, I had an idea..." Namine did her best to strike up conversation with everyone. "...we all know about that house, right? The abandoned mansion in the woods? Well, I thought it would be a fun idea to explore it! What do you say?" Expectantly looking at each of her friends, she waited for a reply.

"What brought this on?" Kairi asked, a little surprised that Namine suggested they visit a haunted mansion. Everyone knew the lore that went along with that place, that supposedly a girl haunted the inside, and would sometimes be seen staring out the window. But no one dared to venture in, nor did they ever get too close. Some tried to see the girl, some claimed that they did, but nobody really knew for sure.

"I met Roxas this morning, in front of the mansion. Somehow...it just felt 'right' to be there." Namine admitted. She just had one of those 'feelings'. "Roxas and I are going, right, Roxas?"

"I did make a promise." Roxas nodded in agreement, he wouldn't go back on his word.

"Sora? Kairi? Riku?" Namine asked each one individually.

Initially, Riku didn't respond to her question. Sora wouldn't go, he knew that much. And if Sora wasn't going, then he honestly didn't have to bother. 'Haunted houses' weren't really on his list of things to do for the day.

"I'm going!" Sora didn't hesitate for a moment. Roxas was going, and even if Riku wouldn't- he'd still go.

Shocked by the fact that Sora readily volunteered for such a thing, he knew it had to be because of Roxas. Sora just seemed 'in' if his new blonde friend was. "I'll go."

"Me too!" Kairi would just have to do her best to intervene should things get heated. From what she heard and observed, Riku and Roxas didn't really get along, at all- and Sora was caught in the middle of things. She didn't know if Roxas got along with Sora individually, or if he was just less 'welcoming' in front of the group, but she aimed to find out for sure. She'd hate to see mistreatment of Sora.

"Then it's decided!" Namine smiled contentedly, "We'll all meet up there after school, alright?"

Everyone agreed to the terms, and sat down at their desks when the bell rang.

Sora thought about what would happen in the haunted mansion. Would they see something, or nothing at all? There was so many possibilities of what could and couldn't happen, he found himself distracted for the majority of the class thinking all of them through. Zexion wasn't going to like it, and Roxas would decidedly hate it just as much- considering he was his tutor, and all. Glancing over at the blonde, he hoped he wouldn't get scolded too badly for his lack of concentration. When Roxas' gaze met his own, he couldn't help but to guiltily look away. Especially when he felt Riku's glare on him.

Sitting idly by, he waited out the rest of class, and was the first one out the door. He didn't stop to wait for Roxas, because he knew Riku would get all the more angry at him and he couldn't deal with _that_ stare anymore. It unfamiliar territory to himself, so he just had to try and tread carefully. Making his way to his locker, he grabbed his gym clothes and made his way to class. He'd have to ask Roxas for his notes, later on, and probably get scolded beyond all relief for ignoring the lesson. He couldn't help it! Someone was mad at him, and that person was sitting directly beside himself...how was he supposed to concentrate in math when every time he did anything, he was glared at?

Sora couldn't stand the idea that he was going to face 'wrath' from both Roxas and Riku.

Sighing to himself, he walked into the change rooms and swiftly changed outfits. Roxas was already in class and waiting for him. He wasn't scowling, or doing any scary sort of facial expressions like Riku had been doing, so maybe that was a good sign? He could only be hopeful. Sora didn't go out of his way to approach Roxas, somehow he felt like Riku would _know_ and disapprove.

"What's gotten into you?" Roxas asked, immediately frowning.

"Nothing!" Sora tried to play the situation off as nothing at all.

"You're a bad liar. Anyone ever tell you that?" Roxas continued to frown and give him the third degree.

"I'm not lying!" Sora insisted on that fact, even though he was doing his best to deceive Roxas. It was for a good reason, so he likely wouldn't be too mad, would he?

"See? There you go, again. What is it? Did you not understand something in math? Do you need with the homework? Because you honestly know that no big deal, right? We can go over it while we're doing that 'haunted house' thing. Or we can figure something else out. I don't know how long we're hanging around that place, and you wanted to still come over, right?" Roxas seemed at the very least, a slight concerned. Or, that's how it appeared to Sora, at least.

Sora sheepishly looked away, "I didn't hear a single word the teacher said." Admitting it out loud, he knew he was in for it.

"That explains why you didn't cringe every time he sent a jab your way." Roxas scoffed a bit. "Is that why you're so worried? Are you scared of me, Sora?" That idea made him slightly amused.

"Well, you _do_ get a little scary when you get mad..." Sora scratched the back of his head.

"Believe me, you've never seen me 'mad', Sora. It takes a lot to piss me off, and if you manage to do it- then you'd better run." Roxas was being absolutely serious. He had little to no patience when it came to others.

"And Riku's mad at me!" Sora whined, pouting as he admitted one of his worries aloud.

Everyone stared at the pair, and Roxas repaid their glances with a steely glare that promptly sent their attention elsewhere. "Not that I really care, but why is he angry at you? Is it because of that little lovers spat you had before?" If that was the reason, then it was absolutely a silly one.

"Yeah, he's still mad about that, I think." Sora honestly didn't know how to make amends with him. Well, he did. But that involved dropping his...whatever it was with Roxas entirely.

"What a brat." Roxas couldn't resist scoffing at the stupidity and childishness. "You sure you wanna make up with him? There has to be better candidates for friends, or whatever he is to you."

"It's never been like this before!" Sora sighed, "He just...he hates that I talk to you, and I don't even really know why! You're not a bad person, and it's all so confusing."

"Maybe he's jealous." Roxas shrugged, "And as I recall, Sora, one of his arguments was that you 'hate the way I treat you'."

"He said that!?" Sora's cheeks flushed red, he couldn't believe Riku said something to Roxas. How embarrassing!

"So, it's true." Roxas said flatly, "You know, you could have just told me? Not that it'd really change things. In case you didn't notice, I'm not really a 'kind' person, Sora." He stated what he thought to be the obvious.

"I don't think that's true." Sora didn't think Roxas was a mean person. Sometimes, he could be 'rude' but that just seemed to be the way he was. "You've done lots of things for me, when you honestly didn't have to. If you weren't a kind person, you wouldn't have helped me at all, right?"

Roxas thought that over for a moment. "If you say so." He semi-evaded giving a proper answer to Sora's question. Lots of people tended to say that. 'If you didn't care, you wouldn't bother, right?'. It was always something along those lines.

Sora didn't prod him any further. At the very least, he felt relief knowing that Roxas was willing to bail him out yet again. It was things like this that probably made him seem hopeless in Roxas' eyes. Maybe that was a bit true. He often made mistakes, but that was just the kind of person he'd always been.

Larxene stepped out, blew her whistle and decided that since it was nice outside, and the weekend, they'd all be going for a run. "The map is on the wall, study it, make sure you're back here by the time class comes to a finish- or you fail this run." The rules were simple, and she expected that they could follow such a simple task. Of course, she'd lead the pack. It was a requirement that P.E. teachers go on the runs, and let students know that it was humanly possible to do so. Despite their griping, if they managed their time wisely, then things would go by smoothly. Leading the class outside, she made all of them stand behind her, and she started the run.

Sora had studied the map, he had a good sense of where they were going, so he just did his best to stay ahead of the rest. Save for Roxas, he was doing a good job. Though it seemed Roxas didn't really have an adept sense of direction in his new town, so he was mostly just following Sora's lead. Getting further and further away from school, all of them ran through the outer parts of town, and eventually into a wooded area.

Roxas felt a slight nostalgia as they went through the thick area. Was this the same place from this morning?

Looking over, he saw the mansion. Some of the girls in the class did the stereotypical scream as they bypassed the place, some of the 'macho' guys gave vague promises of 'protecting them if anything were to happen'. If there was a spirit in that place, and all of the lore behind them held true, then what did they actually hope to accomplish? An incorporeal being would obviously have the advantage over some prideful morons who thought they were being chivalrous and not the biggest idiots in class. Thankfully, he'd never fawned over someone like that.

 _Crap._

In his distraction, he'd lost sight of Sora. Roxas ran forward, as that was the last direction he'd seen Sora going. Still not catching up, he put a little more effort into his run. Annoyed when he didn't gain on the brunette, he didn't know what else to do, but call his name. "Sora!" Letting out an annoyed huff, he tried yelling his name again. Walking through the forest while he tried to figure out which was he was supposed to go, he didn't know what to do other than wander and hope for the best.

Hearing the cracks of twigs, he wondered if it was an animal or classmate. Waiting for either or to come out, he felt even more annoyance when who or whatever it was didn't show themselves. Even if it was just a squirrel, he'd like to know about it. The cracking was getting closer, so he'd come face to face with whatever it was soon enough. Seeing Sora emerge from basically nowhere, he couldn't help but to snort when he saw twigs in the brunette's hair. He also seemed a tad bit messy. Bits of mud, and maybe a scrape or two. He definitely wasn't in that condition when Roxas had last seen him. "Did you fall?"

"Uh...yeah." Sora nodded his head, "I heard you yell my name- and I turned to look behind me, and...well, you know the rest."

Oh. So it had been Roxas' fault that Sora fell. "You hurt your knee."

"Huh?" Sora seemed a bit confused by Roxas' observation. Looking down at his knee, he saw that it was, in fact, bleeding. "Oh. Would you look at that." Brushing off the cut, he smiled and was ready for them to continue on their run. "It's this way." Sora began to lead Roxas off, but found himself stopped when the blonde tugged the back of his shirt. His head tilted to the side when Roxas didn't say anything. Why did he stop him?

"You're bleeding. It's not 'nothing'. You need to clean that out, otherwise it'll get infected. And I doubt you can run anymore after that." Sora could belittle wounds all he liked, Roxas knew better.

"I don't know how far we are from the school...and the more we wait, the worse it'll get, right?" Sora asked. "Let's get going."

Roxas didn't let him move an inch. "Hop on." He instructed Sora, walking in front of the brunette and kneeling.

"Are you sure...?" Sora thought he may be a little too heavy, and he didn't want to trouble Roxas. He also didn't like the idea of dripping blood on Roxas' clothing.

"My house is near here. We'll get you patched up there. If there's any blame to be had- I'll take it." Roxas noticed his hesitance, but there wasn't much else they could do. The school was a farther distance than his house, and Sora's leg needed attention. Even if they got scolded or didn't make it back in time, he'd still do as he said; take the blame.

"Sorry." Sora apologized, taking Roxas up on his offer. It felt odd, and at the same time, fun to be given a piggyback ride.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Roxas scoffed, it had been his fault. He made short work of the forest and eventually they were at his apartment complex. Gently helping Sora off himself, he opened the door to his apartment. "Don't bother." Sora was about to kick off his muddy shoes, but Roxas didn't care about that right now. He'd take care of it later.

"But they're dirty." Sora semi-argued.

"It's a floor. It can get cleaned up." Roxas still saw some hesitance, so he grabbed Sora's hand and led him to the living room. "Sit still." He instructed, disappearing for a moment while he grabbed the first aid kit.

Sora stared around Roxas' apartment, it wasn't at all like he'd pictured things. There weren't any pictures, or anything that wasn't a 'necessity' it seemed. Things were actually pretty...gloomy. Did he live alone? At first glance, it seemed like.

"You look a little down."

Startled, Sora couldn't help but to jump when Roxas spoke. Wincing from his hurt knee, "Ouch."

Roxas shook his head, "Okay, what were you doing?" Sora's reaction to him said 'guilty'.

"Nothing!" Sora raised his hands into the air and shook his head, this time trying to prove that he was perfectly innocent.

"Liar." Roxas scoffed, kneeling down in front of Sora. Taking out some bandages, disinfectant and gauze just in case Sora continued to bleed, he moved the first aid kit out of his way.

"I'm not lying! I swear!" Sora maintained his innocence.

"You really need to work on your lies." Roxas didn't know why he was teasing him. Maybe it was because Sora was making it so easy. Or it could have been because he reacted so much to all of it.

"I'm really not!" Sora whined, he didn't know how to get Roxas to believe him.

"Whatever you say." Roxas dabbed a bit of the disinfectant on Sora, who squirmed immediately when it touched the wound. Holding his leg perfectly still, Roxas bandaged it up. "How's that?"

"A lot better." Sora admitted, glad that Roxas knew a thing or two about patching a person up. "How are we doing for time?"

Roxas glanced at the clock, "We could make it. Do you think you can be quick?"

Sora stood up and tested his leg, "I think I can manage!"

"Don't think; do." Roxas wondered if they were going to end up failing the run or not. Sora didn't seem to think so.

"Let's go!" Sora was determined they make it back. He didn't want to be the reason that Roxas failed their run

"Right." Roxas nodded, following Sora. Periodically, he'd glance over just to make sure the brunette was okay. Even if he didn't outright say that he was hurting, every once in a while he heard him grunt. Pushing yourself when you were injured didn't help anything. He almost offered to carry Sora again, but the determination on his face quickly waved that concern away.

Barely making it to the gym in time, both boys were sweating profusely.

"I see you finally made it." Larxene scoffed, "You both pass- barely. Go get changed. A shower probably wouldn't hurt, either." Waving them off, she walked into her office and left them to their own machinations.

Roxas ordinarily wouldn't have bothered going to the change room, but this time he had to agree that he needed a shower.

"You're going into the change room?" Sora was a bit surprised by that fact.

"I have no choice." Roxas sighed, "You know, you're a lot heavier than you lead on to be." Trying to make 'light' of the situation- or maybe he just liked teasing Sora. At this point, it didn't really matter to him.

"You didn't have to carry me!" Sora called after him.

"You also didn't have to wipe out in the woods." Roxas stated the obvious. Walking into the showers, he was surprised they weren't the stereotypical strange ones that forced all of the boys naked and out in the open with one another. It was a decided improvement. He never cared for people who 'looked' and pretended they didn't at his old school- one of the (many) reasons he never dared use the change room.

"Well...yeah, but you were shouting my name...I was worried." Sora honestly hadn't known why Roxas had been shouting his name, and he decided to get there as quickly as possible. He just hadn't accounted for his own clumsiness.

"You...were gone. I didn't know which way we were supposed to go, and you seem to have a much more keen knowledge on the area." Roxas brushed it off, "I...wasn't worried or anything, alright? Don't get any funny ideas in that head of yours." He just wanted to be sure that he conveyed properly what had happened in that moment.

"I didn't have any 'funny ideas'. I just heard you calling for me, and I came running. Well, I tripped- and _then_ I came running." Sora corrected himself. What kind of 'funny ideas' was Roxas talking about? When you hear a friend calling for you, naturally, you come running. Especially when they shout out your name in the middle of the woods. Truth be told, he hadn't even noticed that Roxas was left behind. His focus was solely on completing their run, and staying in front of everyone else.

"Is it still hurting, your cut?" Roxas was curious. And slightly guilty on the fact that he'd gotten hurt over him. It wasn't as if he was totally helpless in the wooded area, so why did he call Sora? He knew _where_ he was, and it wouldn't exactly matter _how_ he got back to school, so long as he did, right? Larxene wasn't with all of them, so there was no way she'd know anyone 'cheated' to get back.

"It feels a lot better, actually. Thanks to you, I guess." Sora sheepishly admitted, shutting off the shower and drying himself off. Looking down at his knee, he didn't see it being a lasting wound. Maybe a week or so until it was gone. He'd gotten a lot worse scrapes in a multitude of situations. Getting dressed in his normal outfit, Sora stuffed his filthy gym clothes into his bag, he'd have to remember to wash them sometime over the weekend.

Roxas hadn't meant to, but he'd gotten out the same time as Sora. Despite his best efforts, he stared at the other boy. Usually he was above such perversions, and he mentally scolded himself. Averting his eyes while Sora was busy, he got himself dressed. Embarrassed at his own actions, he felt his cheeks get hot.

"Roxas...are you okay?" Sora glanced over at his friend, and saw how red his face was. "Are you sick? Maybe you should go see the nurse."

"I'm fine." Roxas couldn't openly admit what he'd been doing. Especially not to Sora.

"Okay." Sora nodded, "Lunch?" He asked.

"I guess it is lunch time." Roxas was glad for the distraction. "You're not going to back out of the haunted house thing, are you?" He asked while Sora and he walked out of the change room.

Sora's breath hitched for a moment. "I'd forgotten about that..."

"You're afraid of 'ghosts' aren't you, Sora?" Roxas asked, "If you don't like what they're going to do, then why are you going along with it?" It was a simple matter for him to just say he didn't want to go. Why people decided to play martyr just for the sake of everyone else, he didn't know. Or maybe his friends should have known better and never bothered to invite him along.

"I...I don't like the fact that we _may_ run into one...I know you said that they're not real, and I don't mean to doubt you- I just don't know if they are actually real or not." Sora fiddled with his hands while the two of them walked in the hallway, averting his eyes while he spoke. Truth be told, he was terrified of doing what they were going to, but he'd do his best to get through it. "Because it was something that they were all willing to do, and I didn't want to spoil their fun. Plus, I wasn't as afraid as I could be...knowing you were coming along."

Roxas let out a small scoff/laugh, "So it's for me that you're doing this? Maybe there's a lot of that going around." He was going to do the haunted house thing for Namine, Sora was going for Roxas/his friends, and the behemoth who seemed reluctant at first, was definitely going to go for Sora.

"Not just for you...but you were already going, right? Riku and I are fighting- and I don't know if we'd split off into groups or not...and I...I don't like him being mad at me." Sora was doing his best to explain the situation. "If they do decide to split off...then at the very least I wouldn't look like a wimp in front of the girls, right? You won't mind if I start freaking out, right?"

"If it's causing trouble between you and your friend, then why don't you just give him what he wants? Drop me, go back to doing your own thing- I won't mind. I can still tutor you and whatever else that comes along school-wise, don't talk me outside of necessity, and that'll be the end of things. It's an easy fix to your situation, you're just too stubborn to actually do it. Truth be told, I don't even know what you see in me to think that I'd be a good friend to you, Sora." Roxas downplayed himself for added affect. He didn't mind being alone. "No, Sora, I won't care if you get afraid. It takes more 'strength' to admit that you're afraid, let alone asking others for help. I take it you like one of those girls?"

"Because I don't find it fair that he's asking me to stop talking to you. I want us to be friends, and I know that we haven't known each other long- or really even know anything at all about one another, but I want to change that. I think we could be really good friends- even if you don't. I don't know what happened at your other school, or why what happened what did, but some day I hope you'll tell me." Maybe Sora was stubborn, and even though Roxas saw it as an 'easy' choice, Sora couldn't just cut someone out of his life. Riku would come around eventually, wouldn't he? "No!" Sora was quick to shake his head, denying the fact that he had a 'like' beyond friendship to Kairi or Namine.

"Do you really want to know? Because the answer is only going to make you uncomfortable and probably more than likely 'weird' around me. I know it did the same for my 'friends' back home." Some people had really strong opinions about things they factually knew nothing about. Roxas didn't know he'd let his secret 'slip' back home, it was the stupidest thing he ever could have done. He wasn't so sure Sora was telling the truth. Boys tended to love being seen as 'macho' in front of girls for one reason; they liked them.

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Sora asked, getting all the more curious about it. What kind of secret could be taken so harshly by others that resulted in literal fights?

"Just remember that you asked for this, alright?" Roxas didn't want others in the courtyard to overhear it, so he stood a little closer to Sora and whispered in his ear.

"Huh?" Sora blinked, trying to register what he'd just heard. It was something he hadn't really expected, but it didn't make him angry or really indifferent toward Roxas. "How did that make them so angry that they decided to fight you?" It was a very strange thing to pick fights over. Sora couldn't imagine why people deemed it worth such a pointless thing.

Roxas was the one mostly confused, it appeared. Sora didn't care at all, did he? Not in the 'rude sense' but in the 'it's not so much a big deal' way. "Doesn't it make you feel strange? Don't you not want to be around me, anymore?"

"Not really, no." Sora shook his head, "It honestly just fills me with more questions."

Roxas couldn't resist laughing. His laughter lasted for at least a few minutes, until his sides hurt. "Only _you_ could have this kind of response."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora was clueless on whether or not that was a good thing.

"It means that you exceed my expectations, more often than not." Roxas shrugged it off, "Ask whatever you want. I've nothing to hide." Well, there would be a few things along the way that he'd probably not answer. But they'd only come across them as the circumstance came around. "Come on." Finding them a secluded table not within earshot of others, he was ready for the barrage of questions.

"How did you know? That you were...you know...?" Sora trailed off, not finishing the sentence.

"Because I never was like other boys, I guess." Roxas didn't know how else to put it, but he knew that Sora would demand a better answer of him. "Most were concerned about 'girlfriends' and what they thought about them, but I never really cared at all." That was just one of the many contributing factors. "I guess what really pointed me in the 'right' direction was the fact that I had an apparent attraction to boys."

"Did you ever have a...boyfriend?" Sora was just doing his best to not offend Roxas, but this was such an interesting topic to him. He'd never met someone like Roxas, and he wanted to find out everything he possibly could.

"No." Roxas shrugged his shoulders, "You ever have a girlfriend?"

"No." Sora shook his head, he'd never ever gotten close.

He knew this was supposed to be a 'question and answering' period for himself, but he felt inclined to ask Sora. "First kiss?"

"No..." Sora's cheeks flushed at his admission. "What about you?"

"There was a girl who liked me in sixth grade...caught me off guard." Roxas thought about it, he honestly couldn't recall her name. "Apparently she and a bunch of her friends had some superficial crush on me because they thought I was 'cute'. I don't really care for people who make distinctions based upon appearance. They didn't know the first thing about me, and I'd rather not just end up some notch on a persons belt because they 'saw' a version of me that didn't exist. It's also probably one of the things that helped me to figure out I wasn't 'normal'. I felt nothing when she was doing it, and I didn't care to do it again." He had absolutely nothing to compare it to, but he did know that it hadn't come from the right person.

"But you are normal! You're you. What's more normal than being who you are?" Sora listened to everything Roxas had to say, but what he focused on was the portion where he said he wasn't like other people just because of his preference.

"Because people tend to not like the real me, Sora. I made the mistake of letting people get to know me, once. And I'm not really interested in doing it again."

"But you're doing that right now, aren't you? You're letting me know about you, right?"

"You said you wanted to know, to better understand why I did what I did. So I'm telling you." Roxas didn't know what else to say.

"Of course I want to know about you. We're friends. Even if you don't consider me one, I consider you one." Sora knew his statement was probably pushing it, but Roxas seemed to be declining that fact a lot less.

Roxas was about to respond, but the bell rang.

Sora and he made their way to English class, taking their respective seats in class. Sora wasn't kidding when he said he had a lot of questions for Roxas. Even going so far as to speak in between DiZ's teachings, which greatly infuriated the teacher who threatened both with detention if he saw both of them speaking to one another again. Naturally, Roxas obeyed the authoritative figure without question, but Sora did try once or twice- not that the blonde reciprocated in the slightest.

Eventually, Sora did give up and persevere through their assignment. He didn't end up getting this one finished, maybe Roxas could help him out with it, later?

Roxas swiftly walked past him, the two ending up at art class.

"Sora. I'll say this right now, your friend Namine is in this class. She will show up minute, there are plenty of people in earshot who could hear what you potentially have to say." Roxas made sure to carefully say everything he felt that he had to, "So, if you 'accidentally' tell anyone my secret, you will be in for a world of hurt, okay?"

Sora didn't really know what to do with the threat. Roxas was very much serious, and he seemed every bit terrifying when he'd said that. Swallowing, Sora nodded. "I won't say anything. I promise."

"Do you _really_ promise, or are you lying, like earlier?" Roxas would probably never let Sora live that one down.

"I'm not lying! I swear!" Sora didn't know how to prove his loyalty. What else was there to say? He'd promised to not share Roxas' secret with anyone, so what could he do to make him believe that fact?

"I'd believe you, but you lie." Roxas still enjoyed tormenting the brunette. After Sora had proclaimed them 'friends' (without Roxas' consent) he decided that if this was what Sora liked, then there was an abundance of it at his disposal.

Sora couldn't argue with Roxas anymore. Placing his head down on the desk in defeat, he had no idea what to do.

"What's got you looking so down?" Namine asked, seeing a gloomy looking Sora and a relatively composed Roxas. "Is it still about Riku? Because you know he'll come around, right?"

"I wasn't thinking about that..." Sora groaned, "But I am now."

"Sorry." Namine did her best to seem completely apologetic. "So, are we still on for after school, boys?" Expectantly looking from one to the other for answers, she waited patiently.

"I'm not backing out." Roxas didn't hesitate for a moment.

"I'll still come along!" Sora said, getting a bit of his cheerful self back.

"Good! I'm glad." Namine knew that if Sora came, then Riku would come and if Roxas was going, then Sora would go. Such troubling boys they were. Although, she wasn't sure if any of them would abandon the girls, knowing fully well where they were going. Roxas didn't know the lore behind the house, the full lore, at least- maybe they'd fill him in once they stepped foot inside.

Marluxia came in, instructed everyone to grab their projects and continue from where they left off.

Roxas worked on his portrait of Sora, as per usual not really contributing to their conversation. Getting a tad bit frustrated with the face, the bane of his artistic career- he was trying to get it absolutely perfect. Eyes were a pain in the ass, because if you got one just the right way, you more than likely weren't going to get the other one just as well. Eyebrows also liked to screw you over from time to time. Narrowing his eyes a bit at his project, he furiously began to draw, erase, remove shavings from his paper, rinse and repeat.

"He looks really angry at that paper." Namine and Sora were staring at the spectacle before them.

"Some people strive to be perfectionists, Sora." Namine responded, staring at the display before her with great curiosity.

"I think you're guilty of that, too." Sora pointed out, looking down at her paper.

"So I am." Namine couldn't resist a small giggle, "You're also coming along very well!" His drawing of her was really coming along. Apparently Roxas' suggestion was really working for Sora.

"Thanks!" Sora knew that it would never be as good as either one of their projects, but he'd still do his best.

At the very end of the class, Roxas was satisfied with the spacing of everything on Sora's face. If any of the pencil dared to smudge- he swore he'd tear the paper to shreds.

"Remember, boys, meet up at the house!" Namine reminded the pair as she walked out of the room. She was going to get Kairi/Riku.

"Do you want to go together now, or meet up there later?" Sora asked.

"It's supposed to be after school, right? Then there's no point you not coming with me." Roxas packed up his things, and waited for Sora to come along with him. Walking out of the building, they started off toward the woods' general location.

"So...is there anyone you like at the school?" Sora asked, he actually wanted to know. For some reason, his curiosity kept getting the best of him.

"No." Roxas shook his head, "Despite what you may think, Sora, the stigma of 'any guy will do' doesn't apply to things. I'm actually very particular about people I 'like' be it 'friend' or otherwise."

"I didn't mean to make it sound like that! I'm sorry!" Sora didn't know what else to do, other than apologize.

"Why were you asking? Think I've got my sights set on you, or something?" Roxas asked. Maybe that was why some of the fighting had broken out at his previous school. Boys had egos that were far too large for their own good.

"No...nothing like that!" Sora's cheeks turned red, "I just...I thought...I wanted to know."

"You're surprisingly keen on wanting to know my business." Roxas commented, "What about you? Got some stuff you wanna tell me?"

"Not that I can think of..." And then it dawned on Sora. It was another question for Roxas, but this one was completely off topic. "Do you live alone?"

"I do." Roxas nodded, "So you noticed."

"It just...seemed like a small place for a family, but just fine for a person to live." Sora explained, "Plus there were no pictures or anything..."

"Oh. So that's why you basically flinched when I caught you snooping. Good to know. I don't like pictures, I keep things simple. It's not that I don't really have any, I just don't play them on display." Roxas shrugged, to him it was just another 'normal' thing.

"I wasn't snooping. I was...I couldn't help but to glance around." Sora defended himself, "Where are your parents?"

"They live back at home, in the Destiny Islands. It wasn't that they didn't want to come with me, they just couldn't. And I didn't want them to, either. They shouldn't have to uproot their lives just because of something stupid that happened." Roxas would never ask them to do something along those lines. It was nothing but selfish.

"Isn't it lonely not having anyone?" Sora asked, feeling a bit sorry for Roxas' living condition.

"Not really, no." Roxas shook his head, "It's not like they don't call to check up with me from time to time. There's also video chats, they don't ask as many questions as you- and I'm sure that they also don't lie to me as often."

Sora was about to argue once again that he wasn't lying, but they reached their destination. Staring at the rundown mansion, he swallowed nervously. The outside looked absolutely terrible, and he couldn't imagine what the inside was like. Namine, Kairi and Riku were all waiting for the duo.

"Ready for an adventure?" Namine asked the pair.

Roxas shrugged his shoulders. He didn't expect anything grand to come of their exploration. Maybe one of them would find a rotten floorboard and fall through it. Who could say?

"Yep!" Sora tried to portray confidence, though the rest of the group didn't really buy into it.

"I'm ready to go too!" Kairi smiled.

"I guess so." Riku finally spoke, but didn't bother to look over at Sora.

Just as before, Namine removed the lock and opened the gates.

"Anyone else feeling excited?" Namine asked, leading the pack inside of the mansion.

"I think you're excited enough for everyone." Roxas honestly responded to her, brushing past the others. He stared at what must have at one point or another been a grand staircase. Two separate rows of stairs led up to a balcony, with a large hall on either side. Running his fingers through his hair, Roxas decided to branch off and explore. "Meet up here at dark, I'm guessing?" He began to walk off.

"Yep!" Kairi called after him. "Are you going to go with Roxas, or stick with us?" She asked Sora directly.

"I think...I'll go with Roxas." Sora hoped there would be no hard feelings, though he knew Riku would be against it. "I'll see you guys later!" Doing his best to catch up with Roxas, he didn't even wait for a reply.

"Just you?" Roxas asked, hearing Sora behind him.

"Yeah." Sora nodded, doing his best to stay beside Roxas. He honestly didn't want to be alone in this creepy place, and he'd do his best to ensure nobody else had to, either. Examining their surroundings as they walked by, it added an eerie background. Paint peeling from the walls, rotten molding, scuffed and deteriorated floors, cobwebs covering left behind furniture. Each step in the home dislodged some dust, and was followed by squeaking of the boards beneath their feet.

Slowing himself down, and using the light from his camera, to combat the darkness, Roxas couldn't help but to notice Sora matching his pace. Even though they'd barely just started, Sora seemed completely afraid. Every new noise only served to spook him, and he seemed to be just waiting for something to jump out at them. Or at the very least a supernatural occurrence. "You're already wanting to leave, aren't you?"

"No. I'll stay. I'm fine." Sora did his best to seem like it wasn't bothering him as much as it was.

"Liar." Roxas could see the way his hands were balled into fists at his side. They were clenched so tight that his knuckles were turning white, and they were shaking. Grabbing Sora's left hand with his right, he forced it to relax, and slipped his fingers through Sora's, forcing their hands to intertwine. "You're going to seriously mess up your hands if you keep doing that. Get scared? Squeeze my hand."

"What if I end up hurting you?" Sora asked. But he was immensely grateful for the gesture. His heart was pounding, and it honestly took everything he had in himself to not run out of the house.

"You won't." Roxas seemed confident of that fact. "And even if you do, I've had worse. Like you said, we've both had a lot worse." He could deal with squeezing on his fingers, especially after all of the fighting competitions he'd been through, and learning the hard way how to properly punch an opponent. How strong would Sora's grip be?

"Okay." Sora was gentle at first, being self-conscious that he may end up hurting Roxas, despite his insistence that he wouldn't. Swallowing nervously, he hated this. Everything was so dark, and all they had aiding their exploration was the light from Roxas' phone. The creaking of a door opening slightly sent him a bit over edge, and Sora couldn't control the sharp grip he had on Roxas' hand. Letting out a small whimper, he refrained from full on freaking out.

Roxas watched Sora, and honestly wondered if they should continue on or not. "It's just the wind, Sora. There's probably a window open somewhere, or a crack in one, there's lots of explanations."

"Are you sure about that?" Sora asked.

Roxas hesitated for a moment, "Not really. I mean, I'll go check it out." He pulled his hand out of Sora's and began to walk forward.

"No! Wait! Don't go!" Sora immediately grabbed Roxas' hoodie and stopped him. He didn't want to be alone, and not in the hallway where potentially someone or thing could sneak up on him. The lack of light also was one of his major concerns.

"I'll be fine. Just stay out here, and you'll be okay." Roxas gave him a confident smirk and continued to walk forward. "Catch." He tossed his phone back to Sora, and walked to the offending door. Darkness never really bothered him, but it seemed to be a problem for Sora. Walking toward the door, he gripped the handle and pushed it open. There was some mild resistance from the door, and the hinges seemed to be in dire need of oil, as they let out a squeak. The room was very dark, the curtains seemed to soak up any residual sunlight that tried to break through. Any remaining furniture had been covered in what appeared to be at one time white sheets, that seemed to have turned to a dull grey.

Walking around the outer rim of the room, he found almost nothing of significance. Some papers scattered around, remnants of an old life. Was this the master bedroom? It was hard to tell in such a large home. A broken picture frame caught his eye, a family portrait still remained within. A young girl, and what he assumed to be her parents. How long had this place been abandoned for? Judging by the large amount of dust from beneath the photo frame, it seemed like quite a while. Placing it back down, he decided to further investigate the room.

" _Sora._ " Sora flicked his head over in the direction he'd heard his name called.

"Hello? Kairi? Namine? Riku?" Assuming it to be one of them, and that they were trying to pull a joke on him, due to the fact that they knew he was uncomfortable being inside the home, he walked toward a newly opened doorway. "Guys? Is that you?" Cautiously walking forward, he used Roxas' phones light to illuminate the way. Seeing a shadow pass by the door, he felt relief. "Alright! You got me!" Sora called, walking through the doorway. "You can come out now...jokes over...no need to keep doing this..."

Continuing into the room, he saw no one.

"Guys?" Sora felt a little confused. Someone had definitely been in here. Walking around the room a little bit more, he searched around a little bit. Kneeling down, he picked up the blankets and looked under the bed. His heart started pounding, looking at the closet, he felt like he should and shouldn't look inside of it. If they were hiding, and he was supposed to find them, then why not keep up the game? _If_ his friends were in here. Swallowing, Sora stood up and slowly walked toward the closet door.

 _Should I open the door? Why aren't they answering me?_

Sora's hand reached out toward the knobs of the doors, but he stopped halfway through. _No._ Shaking his head, he walked toward the door. Feeling _that_ feeling from behind him, the one where you instinctively felt, not so much knew something was behind you, he almost sprinted for the door. Shuddering while he did so, he felt a creeping fear go up his spine. Sora didn't dare to look behind him, his only focus was to get out of the room, and try to tell Roxas about what he felt and heard. Nearly diving for the door, it slammed shut in front of him. "Okay...I'm okay..." Sora felt like what could have been the beginnings of a panic attack. Trying to keep his breathing steady, and act like he wasn't completely afraid, he attempted to open the door.

It was then that he heard breathing. Thinking it was himself getting overly freaked out, he slowed down his breathing. _The breathing didn't stop._ Sora felt his hands begin to tremble, and his jaw clenched. Trying the door once again, he found it had been locked somehow. Quick observation showed that it was an olf fashioned door, and he couldn't simply unlock it. The mechanism needed a key. That didn't help him, especially when he wasn't going to dare look behind himself. Feeling a sudden coldness in the room, he couldn't resist the cry that came out. Hopefully someone would hear him and come to his rescue.

Hearing what he assumed to be Sora whimpering again, Roxas went back to the hallway, only to find it empty. "Sora!" He called out for the brunette, were one of his asshole friends scaring him? Someone was in for a dropkick if they decided to screw with Sora in what was literally called a 'haunted house'. They all had to on some level know that he was scared of their current location. Hell, Roxas knew that fact and he barely knew Sora at all.

"I'm in here!" Sora called from another room, the handle of a door furiously turning and trying to open. "I'm stuck! Help me!" His cries for help seemed to be very frantic.

"Give me a second!" Roxas tried to open the door from his end, but it refused to budge. Had it somehow locked behind Sora? "Step away from the door!" Roxas instructed him, he was going to have to break it open.

"Okay!" Sora did as he was told.

Roxas knew that he was away from the door when he heard more squeaking from the floorboards. Stepping back, he decided to kick open the door. Roundhousing the door, he was successful in opening it. "Sora?" Roxas asked, walking into the room. Seeing Sora crouching in the middle of the room, his head in his hands, and Roxas' phone beneath him, as if the light was being used for protection, he instantly felt guilty. Sora was obviously scared out of his wits. Closing the space between them, he knelt in front of Sora and pulled him in to a hug. He hadn't known from first glance, but Sora was crying. The wetness on his face had transferred onto Roxas' the moment they hugged.

"I..I heard someone call my name...then I saw someone in here, and...I asked you not to leave me!" Sora choked out, holding onto Roxas for dear life. After what he'd just been through, he honestly wouldn't ever contest the fact that ghosts had to be real. It wasn't any of his friends, none of them were that mean. Not to mention the breathing he'd heard.

"And I thought I told you to stay put." Roxas didn't use his usual smart-ass tone when speaking. What good what it do, right now? "Why the hell did you come in here? Did it sound like someone you know? Or did you just wander in here, thinking you could play hero to...who or whatever it was? I'm _not_ saying ghosts are real, Sora, but if they were and you just wandered in here...then what do you think you could have done?"

"I-I heard someone...at least...I think I did." Sora explained, "I swear that someone said something...and I-I wanted to see if it was one of my friends! They weren't in here...I searched the whole room. When I found out it wasn't them, I tried to go...and the door locked right in front of me. I was stuck...and then there was this...coldness on the back of my neck. I didn't know what to do." He didn't think he could 'help a ghost' he just thought that one of his friends had been playing around.

"Maybe next time...don't follow the ominous voice in the haunted house? I'm sure your parents taught you the basic rules of 'stranger danger' and I'm pretty sure that also applies to 'ghosts'. Don't just walk up to people you don't know. But I've got it, okay? I'm not leaving you. We'll stick together through the whole thing. We also won't go where we you don't want to. And don't you dare pull the 'I'm okay but I'm really not' crap on me, alright? Because if you do- I'll know, because you're such a crap liar, and I'll get mad and more than likely hit you for being a dumbass." Roxas tried to lighten the mood, even if it didn't really come off as a joke.

"Okay." Sora was honestly trying his best to calm down, he wanted them to leave the current room they were stuck in. Well, _they_ weren't stuck inside of it, but he had been. Thankfully, he knew now that Roxas could open any doors that decided to do the same thing. "I...I honestly thought it was one of my friends." At the very least, Roxas had to understand from that stand point.

"If one of them did that to you, then I would have broken their nose." Roxas didn't hesitate to say it.

"I don't think...something like that, wouldn't be necessary." Sora shook his head. How could or would violence solve that situation? Yeah, it would have been a horribly mean thing to do, but hurting them wouldn't be the right thing to do.

"I'm serious, you know? Especially if the big one pulled a stunt like this. I'd drop kick him before he could say 'oops'." Roxas knew what it was like to be joked around with by a friend, he'd been best friends with a serial prankster. Something like this would only be screwed up to ever joke about. Haunted house, luring a friend into a room all alone, locking them in and making them essentially have a breakdown.

"Please don't hurt my friends." Sora pleaded with Roxas. Doing his best to wipe away a few stray tears and calm himself down, he really didn't want Roxas to hurt anyone on his behalf. But the sentiment was very much appreciated.

"Are you okay to go now?" Roxas asked. He didn't bother to make a promise he couldn't keep. Being the 'strong personality' that he was, he didn't put up with mistreatment of others in front of himself. Even if that seemed like blatant hypocrisy, considering his initial treatment of Sora.

Sora nodded in response, so the blonde let go of him and the pair stood up. Shuddering upon standing up, Sora still felt that 'chill'. "Let's get out of here." He still didn't dare to look behind himself, he was afraid to see _something_.

Roxas took off his hoodie and handed it to Sora. "You should have bundled up a bit better."

"Won't you be cold?" Sora asked, he knew that he himself was.

"I'm fine." Roxas shrugged it off, "You look like you need it far more than I do."

Sora nodded, though Roxas probably wouldn't see it. Putting on the hoodie, he was grateful for its warmth. Shuddering a bit as they walked, he waited for the coldness in the air to go away. It was so dark and scary inside this place, how could Roxas be so at ease? Even with the light source they had, it still wasn't enough to quell away his fears. Feeling something touch his shoulder, he looked over and saw Roxas holding out his hand. Maybe he'd been fidgeting too much and Roxas decided to take pity on him.

Accepting his hand, the two walked down the long hallway, into what appeared to be an abandoned dining room.

"Are you okay?" Roxas wanted to make sure he wasn't pushing Sora to do anything more that he didn't want to.

"I think so." Sora felt a little more at ease. Roxas probably hated having to baby him like this, but he was honestly so grateful for what he was doing. He didn't know what he'd do, if Kairi, Namine and Riku saw him like this.

"We can leave any time you want. It's the weekend, and I don't think you want to spend the better part of it wondering if there's ghosts hanging around or not." Roxas honestly didn't mind exploring the strange house. There were a surprising amount of belongings left behind, as if the people were very keen on leaving right then and there. What logical reason could they have for discarding so many things that at one point in time could have been held very dear? One possible explanation could have been that there was the vague possibility the home actually had been haunted, and they felt there was no other option than to flee. Another could have been that they didn't deem anything worthy of accompanying them to their new home.

Examining the contents of the room, Roxas couldn't help but to think though all of the varying possibilities. So many questions, so little answers.

One of the things in the room that caught his eye was a large portrait of a family. Their faces had been obscured. Who had gone to the trouble of tearing the painting? Frowning, a few things were starting to seem a little more eerie. "Tell me I'm not seeing things." Finally breaking the silence, he had to wonder if Sora was seeing the strangeness.

"You're not." Sora shook his head, "Did it just happen on its own? Or did someone else do this...?"

"I don't know." Roxas had no idea, and he didn't like that fact. "We should probably leave." It seemed like the most logical thing to do. Who or whatever had done this clearly had a firm 'dislike' for people, and who was to say on the fact of whether or not they were still here?

"You don't want to stay?" Sora found himself surprised. If Roxas wanted to leave, then surely something was wrong...?

"I'm not trying to scare you, Sora, but I don't think we should stay here. We should try to find your friends, and tell them we're leaving." Judging by the lack of sunlight (not that there had been very much, due to the very dark curtains), it'd be dangerous to continue staying inside the place, anyway.

"I'm with you." Sora was more than happy they were to be leaving the house. He never felt comfortable from the moment they'd gone inside. Something about this place...just rubbed him the wrong way. Walking briskly with Roxas, he tripped over something and instinctively pulled the blonde down with him. Groaning as both collided on the floor, a strange noise rang through the room.

Roxas didn't know why he'd pulled Sora on top of him. Maybe it was because he thought he could take the brunt of it a lot better than the brunette. "Did you hear that?"

"I don't think I want to know what that was..." Sora stood up, and offered his hand to Roxas.

Roxas took Sora's hand. "No way." Apparently, they'd found some sort of 'secret passage' in the house. According to the rules of any horror movie out there, both were now supposed to go down to whatever was waiting down there, and probably more than likely die. Thankfully, this wasn't some typical horror movie. "We're going."

"I'll stay here! I'm not going down there." Sora shook his head, that was way too dangerous, and he wouldn't dare to attempt such a thing.

" _We're_ not going down there." Roxas grabbed Sora by the hand and began to drag him back to the place that they'd originally started. Namine, Kairi and Riku weren't anywhere to be seen. Creaking floorboards above them hinted at the fact that it was either the trio or...something else. "If you want to stay here, or wait outside...I won't mind." Giving Sora the option to back out, just in case.

"I'm going with you." Sora took the lead, pulling Roxas along with him. "We can't leave anyone behind."

Roxas was surprised by Sora's initiative. Despite his prior behavior in the house, he was actually taking charge of the situation. Was it because he thought his friends could be in danger? Maybe he'd been wrong in his assumptions of Sora. If someone was in danger, then he'd overcome his fears, just to make sure they were okay.

 _He'd do anything for a friend._

Even if that meant wiping out in the forest, charging through a haunted house, being scared beyond all relief, still insisting that he persevere through the situation.

Sora led Roxas through each individual room, the two of them coming up empty for the longest time. Coming up to the last door, both stepped through and came face to face with the trio.

"What the...?" Roxas couldn't help but to stare at the room they were all inside of. For one thing, everything was white. Not to mention everything seemed perfectly new, and well kept.

"How'd your adventure go?" Namine asked, "Anything interesting happen?"

"We're leaving." Sora didn't hesitate to let them know he and Roxas had enough of their current location.

"Oh?" Kairi asked, "Sora...are you wearing Roxas' hoodie...? And how come you're holding hands?"

"About that..." Sora didn't really know how to explain the ordeal they'd been through. At the mention of their hand holding, both immediately let go and took a few steps away from one another. "There was...something happened while we were off exploring. And, I was cold." So his explanation on the matter may have sucked.

" _Something_." Riku scoffed a bit, "Sora. Are you two...?" He wasn't quite sure how to say this.

"Huh?" Sora was surprised on the fact that Riku was actually speaking to him. "Wait! Are you talking to me again!?"

"...never mind." Riku shook his head, he decided that he didn't want to know the answer. Sora obviously had no idea on what he was talking about, so there was no point in pressing him on the matter.

"Okay." Sora just focused on the fact that Riku was speaking to him again. He was glad that they weren't fighting anymore.

Roxas walked out of the room, deciding it best to leave Sora behind with his friends.

"You're just going to go?" Namine asked, she couldn't help but to notice Roxas leave. Even if the others were too busy in their conversation, she didn't like to ignore other people. Plus, it seemed Sora and Riku were having a moment.

"He's with you guys. He'll be fine. You can all babysit a lot better than I can. I've got things to do, and I don't need to loiter around this place anymore. Every second I stay in this place, it just gets weirder." Roxas brushed it off, deciding it best to just go home. All white rooms, secret passages...damaged items from within the home. Maybe it wasn't necessarily a ghost in the home, but there was a very real possibility someone still inhabited the place. Dealing with psychopaths wasn't necessarily his cup of tea.

"This is a very strange place, isn't it?" Namine couldn't help but to feel that way. "Won't Sora be sad, knowing you left without saying anything?"

"I think he'll be more focused on getting out of here than bothering for 'goodbyes'. If you guys have any common sense, you'll get out of here, too." Roxas didn't factually know if Sora saw or heard something when he was off in that room. But he knew that Sora believed it to the point that he'd displayed an immense level of fear. It wasn't necessarily enough to sway his opinion on the supernatural, but people began to see and hear strange things when their fear reached its pique.

"We were actually just wrapping up. We'd only gotten into that room just moments before you two came in. Kind of eerie, isn't it?" In a home where everything else was either neglected or in shambles, one room remained that had an apparent theme, and was apparently kept very well. Who could have taken the time to do so? In either case, it seemed all of them should get out of the home.

"You don't even know the half of it." Roxas shook his head, "I wasn't kidding when I said you should leave. Maybe this goes beyond just a 'haunted house'." About all that he could do was was warn her to go, and leave it at that. Walking off without saying anymore, Roxas made his way to the front door. Thankfully, his eyes were adjusted to the dark fairly well, and he could make out a few obstructions in his walk. Effortlessly stepping over them, he made it to the staircase and began his descent. To be honest, he'd be glad to get out of this house.

Prepared for the doors to somehow not open, he was ready for a flying kick of some sort to kick open the door. To his (somewhat disappointment) the door opened without any resistance. Greeted with the night sky, he wondered how long they'd been in that place. Reaching for a pocket that was no longer there, he frowned. _Sora has my phone._ Looking back at the doorway for a moment, "Nah." In staying with his 'this isn't a horror movie' mantra, he decided not to do the typical stigma of reentering the house and somehow ending up locked inside. Sora would probably return the items to him, so he could leave well enough alone and just go home.

Walking away from the home, he started off in the general direction he believed to be his home. It was hard to tell, due to his trekking through the forest only at day time. A few trees and things along the path seemed vaguely familiar, so he believed himself to be going the right way. And then he heard something running in his general direction. Deciding not to be an idiot, he took off. There was no point in getting caught by what could easily be an animal, or just a late night jogger.

After a few minutes of continuous running, he was rewarded by getting out of the forest. Grateful to be near home and other people, Roxas began to hurry home.

 _Footsteps._

"Hey!"

Looking behind him, it was Sora, panting as he caught up with Roxas.

"You're really fast!" Sora huffed, trying to catch his breath. "You forgot your stuff..." He held out Roxas' phone and hoodie.

"Your friends let you just run through a forest at night alone?" Roxas asked, scoffing at the group, how could they let someone who was clearly scared of the dark do something like this?

"They offered to come with me...but I said I'd be fine. You didn't have that much of a start on me, and I thought I could catch up- but you're so fast!" Clearly Roxas had been holding back in a lot of their runs at school.

"Am I fast, or are you slow?" Roxas asked, "What time is it?" He flicked through his phone and found that they'd stayed in the home a lot longer than he'd originally thought. "What do your parents _actually_ think you were doing tonight?"

"I'm not slow!" Maybe it was Sora's knee that slowed him down. "They...kinda thought I was staying at a friends house."

"Would this friend be a behemoth who just started talking to you again?" Roxas asked.

"That would be on the one..." Sora nodded, maybe he could just say he didn't feel like sleeping out.

"Liar." Roxas scoffed, "Do you want to just spend the night at my place? I know that it's small- but I can take the couch or something."

This time, Sora couldn't really argue with the fact that he had lied. "Sure!" He jumped at the chance, grateful that he wouldn't have to face his parents.

"Well, come on then." Roxas didn't know why he offered. Maybe it was because a lot of nonsense had gone down for Sora in the course of this one day that had been his fault. Walking side by side without anything to really say about their experiences in the house, they eventually made it to Roxas' apartment. Roxas held open the door for Sora and flicked on the lights when they walked inside. Seeing the dried tracks of mud that had occurred earlier on in the day, he'd get to them in the morning.

Sora seemed very tired, and his clothes were all covered in dust from the mansion.

"I'll get you some clothes." Roxas disappeared for a moment or two, coming back with pajamas for Sora to wear.

"Thank you." Sora looked around for a moment or two.

"Down the hall. Middle door." Roxas knew that Sora was probably wondering where the bathroom was.

Sora disappeared for a moment or two, and came out in the baggy clothing. While it may have fit Roxas perfectly, it was definitely a size or two too big for him. Roxas couldn't resist a small laugh when he saw how big his clothes were on Sora. He wondered if Sora had to tighten the waistband on the bottoms just to keep them from falling down.

"My room's down the hall. Feel free to take it. I'll take the couch." Roxas went to the closet and grabbed some spare bedding for himself. He was too lazy to bother changing clothes, so he'd sleep in his current outfit.

"Goodnight!" Sora called after him, rubbing his eyes while he yawned.

"Goodnight, Sora." Roxas walked over to the couch, hearing his door shut while he did so. Falling into the couch cushions, he barely pulled the blankets over himself before falling asleep.


	5. Chapter 4: Sleeping over

Roxas awoke the next morning to the smell of food. It was a pleasant aroma he wasn't quite used to. Not even his mother had made something that smelled like this- not that he'd ever tell her something like that. Opening his eyes, he took in his surroundings. The living room...? _Oh, right._ He hadn't slept in his room the previous night, because Sora had stayed over. Rubbing his eyes as Roxas sat up, a small yawn escaped. Stretching out a bit, he stood up and walked to the kitchen. Why was he so groggy? Maybe it had been due to the fact that they went to bed at 'x' o clock. Not checking the time may have been a terrible oversight on his part.

Maybe he'd gotten lucky, and woke up early.

Through the haze of his vision, he saw Sora preparing two separate plates. Sora clearly didn't see him yet, and Roxas wasn't trying to sneak up on him, even if he did just that. Walking over to the coffeemaker, which just happened to be behind Sora, he startled the brunette.

"Oh! You're awake! I hope you don't min-" Puzzled, Sora looked down at the hand covering his mouth. Blinking in confusion, he waited for Roxas to say something- anything. But there was no vocal response for quite some time.

Roxas didn't tend to like coffee, but sometimes you needed caffeine. If Sora wanted him to actually have a productive conversation, then he'd have to be patient. Undoubtedly, it was a 'rude' gesture he'd done. But placing his hand over his guests mouth was the best solution his hazy brain could come up with. It was either this, or every word Sora said went in one ear and straight out the other. I mean, who just woke up and was completely coherent from the get go? Grabbing the pot from behind Sora, he ran the water and went about grabbing a filter. Setting up the coffeemaker, he brewed and waited for his coffee. He grabbed a cup when it finished, and prepared it all with one hand. Testing out the now light brown liquid, it was acceptable.

Removing his hand that had been clamped around Sora's mouth, he walked over to his table and sat down. If the brunette wanted to talk, now would be fine. Though it seemed Roxas may have startled him to the point that he wouldn't dare try to do so. "...sorry." Speaking his first word, he glanced over at Sora. He could hear it in his own voice that he was still very much tired, even if he was doing his best to wake up.

"You're still tired, aren't you? Sora asked, while he brought over both plates, placing one in front of Roxas and himself. He could still see it, so he understood to a small extent. People weren't really talkative when they were tired. Roxas clearly was one of those people.

"I blame it on the nonsense we were doing yesterday." Roxas nodded, yawning again.

"We were out pretty late." Sora had to agree with that fact. But he was never really a person who slept in, so he woke up a great deal earlier than Roxas had. "Like I was trying to say a little earlier...I hope you don't mind me using the kitchen. You were still asleep, and I wanted to do something for you letting me stay over."

"Nah, no big deal." Roxas shrugged his shoulders. Maybe he should actually try the food in front of him- it had been the reason he'd woken up in the first place. Picking up the fork, he grabbed a small mound of food on it and tried out Sora's cooking. _Wow._ "You...made this?" Roxas asked, even though it was blatantly obvious Sora had. Maybe he was just used to his own terrible form of cooking, or Sora was some sort of master chef.

"Yeah, I did. I hope it's okay." Sora added in the last part fairly quickly. He couldn't tell if Roxas enjoyed or disliked the meal, he hoped that he didn't hate it.

"Who taught you how to cook like this? They probably deserve a reward of some sort." Roxas couldn't resist giving a compliment where one was due. Undoubtedly, it was the best cooking he'd ever had.

"Well, my mom did...and then I kinda learned a few things here and there." Sora thought it over, he'd started when he was very little. He'd probably been cooking ever since he could remember. Seeing his mother stand above the stove, and he had a great deal of fascination over the things that she could prepare effortlessly.

"Hats off to the chef." Roxas almost wanted to meet the woman who taught someone to cook this good. Maybe he himself could learn a thing or two. Not that he'd actually invite himself over to Sora's place. "This is really well done. Feel free to make something again." He really meant it, this was far better than anything he could dare try to produce.

"Really? I'm glad you like it! I also wouldn't mind trying out one of your meals." Sora was curious what Roxas cooked like.

"I'm not really good at cooking. In fact, I'd say that I'm less than 'subpar' at it. But if ever there's a campfire or grill...I could make us a mean steak." He wasn't really ashamed to admit he could do basic things. Sora was clearly his superior when it came to cooking, there was no doubt about that.

"You don't like cooking?" Sora asked, curious on that fact.

"It's not that I don't like cooking, it's more that I can't. It's never been a skill I was good at. Unless there's an open flame nearby. Believe me, you can live out the rest of your days and not eat what I make. It's nothing special, and I don't strive to do it for others because of that fact." His mother had tried to teach him, but he failed miserably. Nothing he ever made could compare to her, and it definitely dulled in comparison to Sora. Of course, it didn't seem to matter to his father who uttered the phrase that he'd 'find a nice girl who could do all the cooking for him'. If only he knew. Letting a small sigh escape, he wondered if he'd ever tell them.

"I don't know...I'd still like to try it out. I'm sure it'd be great, just because you made it." Sora smiled, "Do you have any siblings?" When he'd asked about his family, Roxas never mentioned if he did or not.

"Well, that would depend." Roxas thought it over, "It's one of those 'yes' and 'no' situations." Was his older 'brother' born of the same parents as Roxas? No. Were they blood related? Yes. Sora seemed confused by his answer, so he knew that he'd have to explain further. "I'm adopted, Sora. My parents died a really long time ago...and my aunt and uncle took me in. I call them 'mom' and 'dad' because I know that they like it, even though it's not exactly the same. That's where my older 'brother' comes from. Though to be fair, we considered each other brothers even before that happened." Everyone in the family had always remarked how much they looked like 'twins' despite the age gap. Roxas was a few years younger than his cousin.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to pry and bring up any bad memories..." Sora did his best to apologize. Even though Roxas didn't seem to be upset on the surface, he knew it could have been harsh having to speak about such a topic.

"You don't have to be sorry. I was five years old...it happened eleven years ago, and not to say that 'I'm over it' but I've made my peace with things." Roxas retained his memories of those five precious years he had with them, so it wasn't as if they were entirely gone. Some of the things he tried to hang on to were his mothers and fathers voice, and their faces. Of course, over time these things tended to fade.

"But it's still so...sad." Sora said, looking a little down.

"Feeling sorry for me isn't going to change that. I lost a mother and father- my aunt lost a brother and a sister. My brother lost another set of parents. It isn't just me who feels the 'loss', Sora." Despite the way that they had died, not a single one of his family blamed Roxas for the loss of his parents. Though they would have been right to do so.

"I know that, but they were your parents." Sora couldn't help but to feel upset for someone else on this matter. It was sad. Maybe it was time to change the topic. "Your brother...who is he?"

"Ven? Think of a person who looks like me, and acts just like you." That was the easiest way he could put it. His older brother fawned over him quite a bit, and spoiled him in almost any given situation. No matter what, he was the kind of person to take your side- right or wrong. Naturally, after that big fight broke out at school, Ventus was quick to come home from college and check on his younger brother. Even though Roxas argued that school was more important, Ven had turned it around on him by saying that he'd not followed his own advice when he beat up a few of his fellow students.

"Really?" Sora couldn't picture a Roxas who acted like him. "Does he come to visit you?"

"He'd come home periodically. But I'm sure he came just to check up on me." Ventus was just that kind of person, the kind who came prepared with a 'reason' for coming to whatever it may be, though it was just a cover to make sure an individual was okay. Roxas was actually grateful he had someone like him in his life. When everyone else shut him out, Ven was still right there with him, every step of the way. "Considering school just started I don't think I'll see him for a little while. Well, unless it's by video call or something." Ventus usually called whenever he had free time, so Roxas wondered if he'd be calling at all today. Maybe not. He couldn't even imagine all of the assignments Ventus was getting swamped with at college.

"Oh, so I probably won't get a chance to meet him." Sora really wanted to see Roxas' older brother.

"Probably not." Roxas shrugged his shoulders, seeing Sora's 'disappointed' look, he decided to follow up with "I'll let him know someone's interested in meeting him. I'm sure he'll show up at some point."

"I hope so!" Sora went from zero to cheerful really quickly. "Roxas...are you doing anything today?"

"Are you asking me out?" Roxas asked, waiting for some sort of reaction from Sora.

"Not like that!" Sora's cheeks were instantly red and he averted his eyes for a moment, "I just...I thought we could do something today, have a little fun."

"What did you have in mind?" Depending on what Sora had planned, Roxas would probably join him. It was a little late for him to do his morning run/hone his martial arts techniques, anyway.

"It looks like it's going to be nice today, so we could just go out and explore. Maybe go to the beach..." Sora suggested, that was the first thing that popped into his head. "There's also an amusement park...lots of fun things to choose from." Trying to think up more things for them to do, he wasn't really sure.

 _These all seemed like date ideas._ But Sora didn't really seem to notice, and it was obvious to Roxas that wasn't what he was insinuating. "Maybe." Picking up his plate, he placed it in the sink. "I'm going to take a shower. I'll also find you some clothes you can probably wear." He wasn't sure if all of his things would end up too big for Sora. He'd throw their clothes from the previous night in the wash, so Sora wouldn't have to keep wearing his things. It didn't seem to be a big issue, but they still were a bit too big for him.

"Okay!" Sora followed suit by putting his things in the sink and decided to wait for Roxas.

Roxas grabbed a towel from the closet, and looked down at the floor. Had Sora cleaned up the mud tracks...? He didn't need to do that- Roxas said he'd get around to it at some point. That settled things, he was going to get ready and they'd do something today. Sora had already cooked for him, put up with his nonsense in the morning, and cleaned up his home. There had to be some form of repayment on his end, he wasn't raised to be a brat who couldn't even show gratitude. Walking to and grabbing an outfit from his room, he opted to take a quick shower. Sora was waiting, and he was bound to get bored.

Hearing the water start, Sora decided to wash their dishes. The sink was already full of soapy hot water, and he made quick work of the mess that had been in the kitchen. With that finished, Roxas still hadn't come out, and Sora wasn't sure what else to do. Hearing the creaking of a door, he went over to see what it was. Looking through the slit, he saw a punching bag and a few other things around the room. Did Roxas have a home gym in this place? Jumping when he heard the bathroom door open, he didn't know what to do, so he froze to the spot.

"Oh. I see you found the spare room." Roxas didn't really seem to mind. It wasn't anything special to find, and not as if it was some big secret.

"What's it for?" Sora asked, relieved he wasn't in any sort of trouble.

"I take- _took_ fighting classes, and I use this to make sure I haven't gotten rusty. I don't compete anymore, but it's no excuse to let my skills degrade." Curiosity got the best of him. "Do you have any fight training, Sora?"

"No." Sora shook his head, "I never really thought about taking classes or anything like that."

Stepping forward, "Do you want to learn a little bit?" Roxas offered, still toweling off his hair.

"Sure!" Sora seemed very interested in doing so.

"Alright." Roxas placed the towel on a bench and stood beside Sora. "You want to stand like this- to have a proper guard and let your opponent know you're actually serious." He demonstrated a standard pose with your arms raised that most Taekwondo users used. Seeing Sora's attempt at it, he couldn't resist a small scoff. "Like _this_." Roxas went behind Sora and adjusted his body accordingly. "You don't want to get knocked down, or lose because people think you're a naive opponent." If you were seen as 'weak' then you'd get snatched up before you could say 'oops' in tournaments.

"Okay." Sora was doing his best to take in everything Roxas had to say and actually learn something.

"Now from there you could try something like this." Roxas kicked the punching bag and it went flying.

Sora tried to replicate Roxas' feat, but the bag barely moved at all.

"You _do_ know how to kick, right, Sora?" Roxas asked, "You have to throw in _speed_ first and then add _power_ at the end of it."

"Oh." Sora still did his best, and the bag moved quite a bit more than before, but still not as much as it had for Roxas.

Roxas once more stood behind him, and this time moved Sora's body for him, showcasing the proper way to use a kick. This time, the bag moved just as much as it had for Roxas.

"Wow! That was so cool! Can we do some more!?" Sora really wanted to learn more, he'd never done something this interesting.

"Didn't you want to go out and do something today?" Roxas didn't really care if they left his place or not, he just wasn't sure if Sora could bare through his teachings. This was just a basic kick. Learning how to block and maintain that was a whole other criteria. Sora probably wouldn't want to go through that nonsense.

"Oh yeah!" Sora had completely forgotten. "Let's go!"

"You're not going out anywhere looking like that." Roxas couldn't even imagine Sora walking around in his pajamas.

"Ah, right..." Sora looked down at himself, of course he probably looked ridiculous. "I guess I should shower and get dressed, too."

"There's an outfit waiting in the bathroom for you. I'll wait for you, so don't worry about taking long." Roxas would do the dishes or something while Sora was busy showering.

"Okay!" Sora would still do his best to hurry up. He didn't like keeping someone else waiting. Hurrying in to the bathroom, he hopped in the shower. Using Roxas' soap and shampoo he imagined he smelled just like the blonde at this point. Shutting off the shower, he hopped out and dried himself off then put on the outfit. Tightening the belt that Roxas had conveniently left for him, the pants weren't falling down at all. Well, that was one less thing to worry about. Walking out of the bathroom, he found Roxas patiently waiting for himself.

"Ready to go?" Roxas asked.

"Yep! Maybe I should stop by my house first...then I can grab my wallet, and we can do something really fun!" He wasn't sure what he wanted them to do for the day. There were so many possibilities. Movies, amusement parks, arcades...would Roxas enjoy doing that kind of stuff?

"Don't worry about it. I'll pay." Roxas didn't really mind doing so, it wasn't as if he had anything else to do with his money his parents allotted to him, anyway.

"I can't let you do that." Sora shook his head, doing his best to decline Roxas' generous offer.

"I'm not asking." Roxas one upped him. "Come on, let's go." He walked to the front door and waited for Sora to come along.

"Okay..." Sheepishly following Roxas, he felt a little uncomfortable having someone else pay for him. Fiddling with his hands while he walked, he wanted to try and argue that he should go home, get his wallet and pay for himself. But he wasn't so sure Roxas would let him.

"Whatever you're dwelling on- stop. I want to thank you properly, Sora. You did some unnecessary things for myself, and you're owed something. This is the least that I can do." Roxas figured that Sora was antsy on him paying for their outing. Everything he said was true- Sora was owed something in return for the things that he'd done.

"What did I do?" Sora asked, looking over at Roxas.

"You cooked for me. Cleaned up my house." Maybe this was also due to the fact that he'd stolen a peek at the other boy in the change room. That'd be a secret he'd probably take to his grave.

"Oh, that was nothing!" Sora smiled and laughed a bit.

"To you, maybe." Roxas shrugged his shoulders, "So, where are we going?" He wanted to know just what it was that they'd be doing.

"We could go downtown...see if there's anything to do from there?" Sora suggested.

"Alright." Roxas didn't really mind that plan. He had no idea what amenities the town had to offer, so this one would be all on Sora. Walking side by side in silence, he wondered when the questions would start flooding his way. Glancing over at Sora, the brunette seemed to be less fidgety and more on cloud nine at this point. They hadn't even begun to do anything remotely 'fun' and yet he was still enjoying the situation.

"We should go to the arcade! Do you wanna go?" Sora asked, pointing to the building in question.

Roxas shrugged his shoulders, "It's your call." Evidently, today was going to be a 'say yes' day on his end of things.

"Alright, come on then!" Sora sped along to the arcade, he loved playing all of the games in his spare time. Riku often came with him, but this obviously wasn't one of those times.

Roxas followed behind Sora, exchanging some money for cards that they apparently had to 'swipe' to use things with. Whatever happened to the old fashioned 'coin in the slot'? "Here." Roxas gave one to Sora, "What's next?"

"Do you feel like playing anything in particular?" Sora looked to Roxas for ideas, though it seemed that this outing was going to be controlled by him. He wasn't really sure what to pick/do, as he wanted Roxas to have fun, but he didn't really know what he did for fun. There had to be something that the two of them could do in this place.

"Not really. It's your choice." Roxas shrugged his shoulders, he'd play whatever Sora wanted to do.

"Alright, let's see..." Sora tried to think up things they could do together. There was an obstacle course that was displayed throughout the arcade and everyone could see you attempting to make it through, bumper cars, go karts, typical arcade machines. Going for something easy, and he knew that both of them could do, he went to the basketball hoops. Roxas and he swiped their cards, and promptly starting shooting the balls into the hoops. Each time they got one in, it pulled back a little farther to increase the difficulty. A few minutes in, and both were finished with their little contest. Neither one really knew who 'won' until the end.

"Come on, Sora. We can do this at school. Isn't this the weekend? Aren't we supposed to do something crazy and fun?" At least, that's how stereotypical 15 turning 16 year olds acted. He had no idea what 'fun' there was to be had in this town, and wasn't quite sure if Sora and he had the same distinctions of 'fun' anyway.

"Yeah, you're right." Sora decided to try and pick something they'd both enjoy, but he wasn't quite sure what it would be. He thought basketball would have been a good choice, but Roxas wanted to 'have fun'. _Fun._ Frowning a bit, Sora tried to pick something. Maybe it would seem silly, but he picked the head to head dancing game. It was simple and easy; mimic the screen, press the right button with your feet, and get the correct timing to win.

Roxas couldn't resist a small scoff, but somehow it seemed very 'Sora'. Both of them stood on either side, Sora picked the song, and Roxas faltered with the game. He'd learned balance via Taekwondo and using the flamingo stance, but somehow couldn't manage to deal with a silly game? Sora seemed to be effortlessly winning the game, and Roxas' competitive nature didn't really help his chances of winning the game. All of his steps were out of sync, and he looked more clumsy than anything. He was glad that it had ended, wondering how idiotic he actually must have looked.

Sora noticed Roxas wasn't really enjoying himself, so he decided to try out a few more things.

At the end of it all, it became apparent that Roxas sucked at video games. He failed tremendously at Pacman, couldn't figure out how to turn around his motorcycle in the racing game, Sora creamed him in the fighting game, while Roxas stated that most of the fighting moves used in the game were actually fictitious. But of course they fibbed in those games, it wouldn't be all that fun if everything was realistic.

" _Better luck next time, huh?_ "

Sora's character defeated Roxas' and she taunted upon getting the 'winner' screen.

Alright, the arcade was a bust.

Roxas silently walked beside Sora, whose hands were folded behind his back. He didn't know what they should do for the day. What was there to do? Bypassing the theater, there was nothing either one really wanted to watch. Glancing over, he had an idea. "Let's go to the beach!"

"You're the boss." Roxas followed Sora's lead. "Why the sudden interest in the beach?" He couldn't really remember the last time he'd gone. Well, he couldn't recall every last detail, but he knew that it was quite a few years ago with Ventus. They'd made sand castles and played with crabs. Actually, Ventus played with the crabs, Roxas was absolutely terrified of them. Even when his older brother tried to hand him one, he freaked out and tossed it aside. Maybe it was because it looked like a fat black spider as opposed to a crab.

"There's a spot I really love on the beach. Most people don't bother to go over there, but it looks really great at sunset." Sora explained, he just wondered if it was still there. He hadn't been in a decade, so there was a distinctive possibility _it_ wasn't waiting there for him, anymore. It would be a disappointment, but he could get over it. The memories still existed, so he could find solace in them.

"This wouldn't happen to be that picture you drew?" Roxas asked. Sora had said it was an old memory, putting two and two together wasn't relatively all that hard.

"Yep!" Sora was really excited to visit his old spot. That is, if it still was his old spot. Although neither he nor Roxas were exactly dressed for the beach, both boys did their best to walk along the sand, and bypass the people. Evading the lapping waves along the shore, Sora decided it was best to just take off his shoes and socks, carry them and walk in the water. He loved the feeling of wet sand beneath his feet. Occasionally, the odd crab ran through his toes and he couldn't help but to laugh a little. Amidst his laughter, he never noticed that Roxas was evading all of the tiny creatures.

Watching Sora walk through the water without his shoes, Roxas suppressed a shudder. He'd never be able to do that. Feeling slimy things beneath his feet in what wasn't always clear water, he hated not knowing what was beneath him. Things could easily be seaweed, or a fish...another creature of some sort. There were far too many variables. Seeing Sora stoop down and pick up a baby crab, he felt a little uneasy.

"Look, Roxas!" Sora showed off the light green hued baby crab scuttling through his hands. "It's so cute!" Lifting his cupped hands up so Roxas could see, he blinked in surprise when Roxas shuffled back a few steps. "Don't you want to see it?"

Roxas shook his head, "I don't like them."

"Aw, how come?" Sora couldn't believe Roxas didn't like them. Baby crabs were all so cute and they came in such varying colors. His favorite were the little red/orange ones, but he still enjoyed the green/black ones. Not to mention hermit crabs in all of their pretty little shells. He placed down the little crab before it fell out of his hands, he didn't want to end up hurting it.

"I've just...never liked them." Even to this day he didn't dare put one in his hands. Maybe it had started out of a childish, irrational fear it would pinch him- but he never felt comfortable around the crustaceans.

"That sucks. I've always loved them." Sora would have to restrain himself when it came to the little animals, it seemed. He didn't want to scare Roxas with them.

"Maybe. I've never held one, and I don't think I ever really want to." Of course, he was curious on what it felt like, but he didn't want to dare try and handle one. They were unsightly little things, especially with their odd little protruding eyes. Most people would have laughed, mocked him, did the stereotypical questioning of his masculinity due to being afraid to such a tiny creature, but not Sora. Then again, he didn't seem to really be 'typical'.

"That's okay. You don't have to." Sora smiled, "You're allowed to not like things, right? We're all different- and it'd be boring if we all liked/disliked the same things."

Sora wasn't as dense as a lot of people thought. He had his moments. This being one of them. "The diversity of life." Roxas commented. How true that statement was.

Sora held his smile while the two continued on their little journey. Eventually he was forced to put his socks and shoes back on while they trekked a little bit through the forest. "Let's see..." Musing to himself, he knew they had to be close. After a few more minutes, they bypassed a little cave and came to a clearing. "Found you!" He triumphantly called out, seeing the deformed palm tree. Running over to it, he couldn't help but to feel a surge of nostalgia.

Roxas stared at the tree, he'd thought that Sora drew it disproportionately in his picture, but apparently it had been fairly well done. Resolving to lean against the tree rather than sit, he stared at the view before them. He understood what all of the fuss was about. Nobody seemed to be over on this part of the beach, and it was privatized because of that fact. "You used to come here, alone?" Roxas asked, glancing over at the brunette.

"Sometimes." Sora nodded, "But my parents would sometimes come along, and so would Riku." Hearing the roar of the waves, he couldn't help but to feel at peace in this place.

"No girls allowed, huh?" Roxas asked, hearing that Namine and Kairi hadn't been to his special spot.

"That was...unintentional." Sora laughed a little. He'd never thought about that before.

"Is this all you wanted to do?" Roxas could admit this was a good space and all, but he couldn't stay here for long.

"Do you want to leave already?" Sora asked, sitting up from his position on the tree.

"There has to be something else we can do." Something that could keep them busy for a while. It wasn't that he hated nature, or any of that- but he wasn't really a social person. Even though this part of the beach they were on was technically 'private' there was a chance someone could stumble upon them and ruin their outing.

"Okay." Sora didn't bother to argue. He leapt of the tree and led the way back to the regular beach. "Oh!" Seeing an ice cream vendor, he couldn't help but to feel excited. Did they sell his favorite treat?

Roxas looked over in the general direction Sora was staring at. "You want ice cream, I take it?"

"Do you like ice cream?" Sora asked, he didn't want to bother getting it if Roxas wasn't going to have any.

"Not really. But I'll probably get something." Roxas shrugged his shoulders. "You want it, right? Well, come on then." He walked over to the vendor, Sora-in-tow.

"What'll you have?" The vendor asked, looking from one to the other.

"Sea-salt ice-cream." Sora couldn't wait to have one. No matter how many you had, they were still just as amazing. Taking the light blue treat that was offered to him, he wondered what Roxas was going to get.

"The same." Roxas didn't care much for sweets, and if he didn't like this one, then Sora could have it. Win win. Paying as he received his treat, he walked off with Sora. Glancing down at the popsicle, his curiosity piqued. _Sea-salt ice-cream._ What would it taste like? As an ice-cream, it should be 'sweet'. Or would it be a mixture between savory and a little bit of bitterness due to the salt? Seeing a drop of liquid slowly descend down the confection and fall to the sand, maybe he should actually think about eating it. Glancing over, he felt Sora's gaze on him.

"Are you going to try it?" Roxas' look basically said 'explain'. It seemed a little odd to Sora, that someone stare at ice-cream and not dare to even try it. Were it him, he'd thoughtlessly dig in.

"The thought crossed my mind." Sora made eye contact with him while he ate his popsicle, and Roxas felt mildly uncomfortable by that. It made a few obscene images come to mind that he promptly tossed aside. Maybe it was the mild burning sensation spreading across his face, added on to the heat of the sun- he licked the popsicle. _It was delicious._ His normally immaculate impulse control faded away. Trying to savor it, even though he wanted every single last morsel of the treat in one go, his desire to devour it won out.

Sora couldn't help but to laugh at the display in front of him. Roxas really liked the treat, apparently. "How was it?"

"Like nothing I've ever had before, apparently." Roxas was a bit embarrassed by the fact that he'd lost all self-control over a treat. In either case, Sora's favorite treat was definitely worthwhile.

"I think that's how I ate my first one." Sora didn't mean to shame him, it was just so funny and peculiar to see Roxas acting the way he did. Or, maybe he just acted incredibly different at school. "Wanna share?" Sora offered, holding out the hand that held the popsicle to Roxas.

The offer was tempting, but he didn't want to impose on Sora. Shaking his head, he declined. "Nah."

"Hey, what was that? Roxas, open your mouth. I think you have a chipped tooth." Sora seemed concerned.

Obliging him, Roxas opened his mouth and stared expectantly at Sora. Was there a chipped tooth? He didn't notice- and that's when Sora put the popsicle in his mouth.

"Gotcha." Sora laughed, seeing Roxas' dumbfounded look with the popsicle in his mouth. He knew that Roxas probably wanted more and just decided not to say anything. In either case, he found it funny, and Roxas got to have more of the treat he liked. With his mouth full, the word 'liar' came out more as an incoherently muddled 'wire'. It was a clever trick, he'd give that one to Sora. Roxas honestly had to suppress a smile. "What was that?" Sora asked, unsure of what the word he said was.

"I said 'liar'." Roxas no longer had the object in his mouth, and was glad he didn't sound like some cheesy horror movie monster anymore. Though he did miss the taste of the ice-cream.

"You got me." Sora continued to smile, "Want some more?"

Thinking it over for a moment, he just decided to nod and have a little more. Though a 'little' turned into a lot, considering the fact that Sora would have some of his, and continually offer it to to Roxas. When the last of it ran out, Roxas found himself sourly disappointed. He wasn't quite sure if Sora felt the same amount of disappointment. Looking over, Sora was licking the remnants of the popsicle off his lips. "What now?" Was it just him, or were there far more sexual innuendos?

"Amusement park?" Sora suggested the one thing he thought they could together and actually have fun. It wasn't like an arcade, and they'd probably more than likely have some sort of fun. That is, if Roxas didn't get motion sickness nor hate rides.

"Sure." Roxas shrugged his shoulders. "Lead the way." Was Sora after the sweets these things had? Because, if so, then Roxas would probably try one or two of them as well. Apparently he had really good taste when it came to dessert items. Taking out his phone, he stared at the time. The sun would be setting in an hour or two.

Sora hoped the amusement park would win out. Though the most fun Roxas seemed to have out of the day (and was Sora's favorite moment) was when he'd eaten the sea-salt ice-cream. Just thinking about that had him laughing a little. He knew that sea-salt ice-cream was good, he just had no idea it was _that_ good. Roxas looked over, to see what Sora had been laughing at. Shaking his head, he didn't want to admit it to Roxas, if he did, then he'd probably get a scary look sent his way.

The pair walked along in silence from the beach. Every once in a while, Sora would glance over at Roxas. It seemed the blonde was also stealing glances at him, as he'd almost immediately look away. Not thinking much of it, Sora led the way to the amusement park.

"Do you always do that gesture?" Roxas hadn't seen Sora place both hands behind his head and walk like that. Well, he hadn't seen _anyone_ do that, let alone while walking.

"Huh?" Sora looked over, he didn't even realize he was doing what Roxas was asking about.

"Your hands." Roxas pointed to them.

"Oh." Sora looked up, as if he could see them. "Sometimes. I think it's become so much of a habit that I don't even realize I'm doing it anymore."

Roxas just nodded, satisfied with that explanation. "Hang on." He quickly walked over to a ticket booth and got what he figured to be enough for them to stick around a good while. Returning to Sora, he handed them over to the brunette. "What are we going to do?" Some people tended to start slow at this things, i.e. the ferris wheel, then work their way around to the other rides. Maybe Sora was one of those people...?

"That one." Sora pointed up, and Roxas tilted his head to stare at the ride.

 _Alright. I was wrong._ The ride in question was evidently called 'the zipper' and seemed to be quite a bit off the ground. By his guess, at least 50 feet. All of the...he didn't know what else to call them, other than 'cabins' rotated 360 degrees, and there was some sort of optical illusion make it seem like you were going to hit the ground, apparently. At least, that's what he gathered from the people inside (a few girls saying infamous lines of 'we're going to die' or using high pitched screams). "You sure you wanna ride that?" Roxas asked, he didn't know if Sora would be up to it.

"Yep!" Sora nodded, he didn't seem to hesitate for a moment. "Come on!" He rushed to get in line. Lots of people really loved the ride, (Sora included) and he wanted to make sure they went on it at least once.

Roxas continued to observe the ride. Some people like things to seem 'dangerous', didn't they? As luck would have it, right when the current people finished, Sora and Roxas were able to get the last 'cabin'. Sora sat on the left part of it, Roxas on the right, and the were 'secured' in the ride with a 'safety bar' in front of them. The door of what seemed more like a 'cage' at this point(due to the metal bars, just in case) was shut and locked. Not knowing what to expect, Roxas waited for the ride to start moving.

Instantly, the two were forced against the padded back of their seat. Sora tightly gripped the bars in front of them, grinning and laughing as they were sped up and made it to the top. The cage continually flipped in their ride, and it changed directions, this time making it look like both were going to hit the pavement. Roxas understood now why those girls were freaking out. This ride was actually pretty fun. Gravity pinned you down, the constant turning gave you a 360 view, and there was that 'feeling' in your stomach. Like nervousness, but it was more than likely because you were being tossed around and a few things were colliding inside of you.

Sora didn't know why, maybe it was due to all of the odd angles, or being tossed around- but he couldn't help laughing for the entirety of the ride. What was there to not enjoy? He loved when they made it to the top, and were basically thrown downward. The best part of rides was that they made you feel 'strange' on them. He had no idea what to call it, other than 'strange'. After a few more rotations, the ride came to a halt. It was then that Sora noticed how firm his grip had been on the bars. There was always that little bit of him who worried he'd fall out of the ride, despite all of the safety precautions.

The door was opened, and both promptly left the ride.

Sora's legs felt weak, and he was a little dizzy- proof that it had been a really fun and worthwhile ride for them to go on. But after an experience like that, one question lingered in the air; what was next? Looking around, he wasn't quite sure what to pick. There was a wide variety of things for them to go on, and he couldn't help but to wonder if he should try to slow things down. Slower rides would give them a reprieve from the thrills the faster ones gave off, and this way they could cycle through a great deal more rides.

"Which-" Roxas was about to ask, but Sora grabbed his hand and started to drag him away. Just as well, he was lost in the blinking lights and masses of people, anyway. Judging by the last ride they'd been on, he imagined Sora would pick something equally as, if not more thrilling. Staring at the ride which was apparently called 'Cyclone', it seemed Sora liked rides that rotated and lifted a fair distance off the ground. Waiting in line for the remainder of its current rotation, Roxas observed the basic mechanics of the ride. It appeared that the ride would only spin around in a complete 360 if you chose to rotate the circular object in the middle of each table.

The 'enter' gate opened and Sora handed over tickets for both boys to the person in charge, then continued to lead Roxas by the hand to a table. Sitting opposite each other, they strapped themselves in and waited for anyone else to join them. Eventually, two girls came and sat beside either boy. Both of them were giggling and speaking a conversation Sora didn't overhear.

Roxas had a keener sense of hearing, and heard the odd comment about the 'cute blonde' from the red haired girl, but the pink haired one seemed interested in Sora. Those kinds of comments didn't really phase him, girls tended to only notice his physical appearance. Maybe that was one of the (many) reasons he didn't bother when it came to socializing with them. Sure, ones like Namine were far easier to deal with, as they may be a little (a lot) weird, but they didn't just see someone they thought was cute and make a judgment on that. _I don't like shallow people._

"Roxas?" Sora saw Roxas zoning out, even though the ride had already started.

"Roxas? That's an interesting name!" the red haired girl tried to strike up conversation with the blonde, even going so far as to almost entirely talk over Sora.

"Huh?" Roxas finally clued in that they were moving. "Did you say something?" He asked Sora, never bothering to associate with the girls.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked, looking concerned.

"Fine." Roxas shrugged his shoulders, "So-"

"What's your name?" the pink haired girl asked Sora, instantly annoying Roxas.

Speaking over him? If his eye could twitch out of annoyance (or spite) it would have right now.

"Mine?" Sora asked, pointing to himself.

"Yeah!" she nodded, waiting for an answer.

"I'm Sora-" Sora began to introduce himself, but they started to rotate which caught him off guard. The ride wasn't supposed to be moving on its own, so who had started it?

All eyes fell on Roxas, the one who was making them move moderately fast, just on his own. "We're supposed to make this thing spin, right? Then let's see how fast this hunk of junk can go."

"Are you sure?" Sora didn't want them to end up getting motion sickness and not be able to go on anymore rides.

"Why? You scared we won't be able to beat those guys?" Roxas asked, motioning over to a table that was moving at an almost blinding speed.

"No way!" Sora shook his head, he wouldn't back down from a challenge. Placing his hands on the wheel, he and Roxas moved their table so fast that everything surrounding them turned to nothing but blurred masses. Sora couldn't resist laughing from how fast they were moving- he knew they were in for it when they got off the ride, but he did his best to focus on the fun aspect of things. Even if they hadn't surpassed the speed of the other people, he was enjoying the ride.

Both of the girls couldn't resist screaming from how fast the group was moving.

Their screams did nothing to halt Roxas' turning of the wheel, but it did seem to deter Sora. Just as well, it seemed their ride had come to its end. The ride began to gradually slow down until they were able to get off. Roxas had no troubles, but it seemed Sora was stumbling around a bit. He nearly fell over and had Roxas not caught him, he likely would have.

"I think...we may have overdone it." Sora laughed, leaning entirely on Roxas while trying to regain his balance.

"I didn't think you were such a lightweight." Roxas scoffed a bit, though he did crack a small smile at Sora's antics.

"But it's so fun when we go so fast! Don't you like going fast?" Sora asked, doing his best to not trip over and end up pulling both of them down.

"I think you're an adrenaline junkie." Roxas shook his head, "Sit down for a minute." He walked them over to a bench and sat down beside Sora. The rides themselves weren't necessarily fun, and though he wouldn't necessarily admit it aloud- he liked spending time with Sora. Roxas still wouldn't dare to label them 'friends'- he'd had enough of people in that category to last him a lifetime.

"Maybe." Sora laughed, he couldn't deny the fact that he loved the rush of excitement that came from certain rides. Although that one wasn't necessarily as great as the Zipper, he still enjoyed the experience. "Want to go on another?"

"Can you handle another?" Roxas asked, they'd only been on a few, and Sora didn't need to wear himself out.

"Yep!" Sora was sure that he could. Maybe he'd pick something a little bit different, that way he wouldn't need Roxas to make sure he didn't topple over every few seconds. Deciding on something fun but a bit slower- they went on the bumper cars. His motor skills were lacking for a little bit, but he eventually got the hang of things. There was nothing quite like when your dizziness faded away. After the bumper cars, came a few more filler rides until night time and they went on one last ride; the ferris wheel.

Roxas didn't really know why Sora had picked it. Maybe it was to die down the excitement of the other rides. Even so, it looked like he was still pretty hyped over things. Gradually making their way to the top of its rotation, he couldn't help but to observe the view. This place actually became pretty beautiful at night, especially with moonlight hanging over everything- not that the street lights and rides didn't help to quell away some of the darkness.

"I think those girls liked us." Sora commented, breaking the silence between them.

"Girls?" Roxas asked, he did his best to forget that whole ordeal earlier.

"The ones on that ride. The big spinning one that we made go really fast." Sora did his best to remind Roxas.

"What's there to like, Sora? They didn't know the first thing about either of us, and if they did have a 'like' it was a physical attraction and superficial, at best. I don't really like shallow people who make judgments based upon outward appearances." Which is more than probably why he dressed the way he did. It made more people stay away and leave him alone, proving that most people made judgments without ever really trying to know someone. Not that Sora was one of those people.

"I guess you're right..." Sora smiled, he'd never thought about it that way. "Is that why your dress the way you do? So people don't just stare at you and think things like 'Oh, he's cute.'?"

"One of them." Roxas nodded, "Why are you so hung up on those two? Is Mr. No Girlfriends going to try for one?"

"No!" Sora's cheeks flushed of embarrassment, he did his best to look away.

"Maybe I should have just told them they were barking up the wrong tree." Roxas didn't really think about that earlier. An easy way to get people to lay off would probably be just saying he was gay. Not that it stopped some girls as they had ideations that you were simply 'confused' and 'hadn't met the right girl yet'. He'd met plenty of girls, some of them had become really great friends to him, but he never objectified nor thought of them in a beyond 'friends' manner. Some people just really loved to run their mouths without knowing all the facts.

"Would you really do that?" Sora asked, he thought it had been a secret Roxas wanted to keep.

Roxas shrugged his shoulders, "If they started to get really annoying, yeah."

"What if they didn't believe you?" Sora asked. Not everyone was bound to believe him when he openly said things like that.

"Then I'd just have to _make_ them believe me, wouldn't I?" Roxas asked, looking over at Sora.

Thinking it over for the remainder of their ride, Sora wanted to ask how he could accomplish such a feat, but held his tongue. Was it wrong to ask someone a question like that? Once the pair got off, he still wondered if he should be asking that question or not. Shaking his head, he decided against it. Maybe because he didn't want to hear the answer for fear that he wouldn't like it.

"Is there anything left to do?" Roxas asked, it seemed pretty late. Even though people were still enjoying rides and such, he was about ready to go home.

"Not that I can think-" It was then that Sora's stomach rumbled. Embarrassed, he looked away.

"Wait here." Roxas decided to get him something to snack on while they finished things up here. Walking over to one of the vendors, he got Sora cotton candy as he seemed to love his sweets. Getting the tri-colored bag, he made his way back to Sora. "Here." He offered it to the brunette, who seemed grateful and embarrassed to receive the cotton candy.

"Thank you." Sora took some of the pink cotton candy and ate it. Strawberry was always his favorite flavoring, no matter the sweet. "Wanna go sit down for a little bit?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Roxas nodded, following Sora to a bench. Glancing up at the sky, he couldn't help but to feel captivated by it- there was always _something_ about nighttime and darkness that had him. Everything just always seemed better. The stars, the moon, shooting stars... _less people_. What wasn't there to like?

"Did you...have fun?" Sora asked, hoping that Roxas hadn't found the whole day to be a bust. If he had any fun at all, then Sora would be happy.

"I think you had enough fun for the both of us." Roxas commented, looking over at Sora. He knew that wasn't the answer Sora wanted, so he rephrased things. "It's one of the more memorable days I've had in a long time. Save for yesterday, I guess." Not that he'd really 'treasure' the haunted house all of them stepped foot into. Nor the apparent evidence that something super(or)natural could be in that house.

"I'm really glad to hear that! The first part, I mean..." Sora also didn't really care for their experience in that house. He'd never go in it again for as long as he lived.

"Not a big fan of the house, huh?" It was basically a rhetorical question. He knew Sora hated the place with every fiber of his being. Not that anyone could really blame him. An all white room that seemed to be the newest/well kept in the entire mansion, hidden passageways. Just what kind of people were the former owners of that house?

"No." Sora shook his head, "I don't want to back in there- ever."

"I don't blame you." Roxas looked over, "Something about that place seems 'off'- I'm not saying ghosts could be the explanation, but there is a lot of strangeness to it all."

"Whatever it is, I don't like it." Sora was glad they could agree on never going back. Suppressing a shudder, he did his best to smile. _Huh?_ Roxas was leaning in closer to him, and he didn't know what to do. What was Roxas doing? Heart pounding and not knowing what else to do, he shut his eyes tight, and waited for what was to come. Feeling the slightest soft touch to his face, he was still nervous. Before anything else could occur, he heard a large exploding noise from above. Opening his eyes, Sora looked to the sky, watching the fireworks in awe.

Though Sora was studying the explosions in the sky, Roxas couldn't help but to stare at the brunette. Even when a menagerie of colors cascaded on the both of them, one thought occurred- _Sora closed his eyes._ When Roxas had leaned over, Sora closed his eyes and waited. _Did he think...no, he couldn't have...could he?_ It was a perplexing situation. Sora may or may not have thought Roxas was going to kiss him. Had that gesture meant 'go ahead'? That only served to raise further questions. Was this seen as a 'date'? Did Sora see him as more than a friend? _Is Sora like me?_

One thing was for certain; it was going to piss off the behemoth.

"Wow!" Sora saw a firework explode into the shape of a paopu fruit. It reminded him of his special spot on the Destiny Islands. He couldn't help but to grin at all of the spectacular shapes in the sky. "Roxas, did you see that one!?" Looking over at his friend, he felt a little strange on seeing the look Roxas sent his way.

"Sora. You didn't..." Roxas didn't know how to say this, without making Sora feel strange. He could have been wrong, and if he was, then he'd look like an idiot. If he was right, then he didn't quite know how to act.

"Hmm?" Sora didn't know what Roxas was trying to say.

"Did you think I was going to kiss you?" There was no easy way to say it, so he decided to just have it outright. If he was wrong, then maybe they could just laugh about it.

"N-no!" Sora shook his head, though his red face said otherwise. He looked away from Roxas, unable to speak the truth. Yes, he'd thought Roxas was going to kiss him- he had no idea why he suddenly leaned in like that. To make things all the more confusing, he'd closed his eyes and waited for it. _Friends don't kiss friends._

"You...had cotton candy stuck to your face." Roxas leaned over and picked off the piece of cotton candy that was stuck to Sora's face. It had been really bugging him for some reason. Sora still seemed nervous the second time around. Maybe (hopefully) that mild explanation would satiate him.

"Oh! I did?" Sora felt stupid. How could he have thought something like that was going to happen?

"You did." Roxas showed him the pink clump he'd pulled of Sora's face.

"Oh." Sora didn't know what else to say. "Well...I should get going now! I'll see you later, okay? Bye!" He stood up and started off at a brisk pace then full on run.

"Sora!" Roxas called after him, but he was already long gone. What was he supposed to do, chase after him? He had no idea where Sora was going, and if he even wanted to see him right now. After that whole misunderstanding, one thing was certain- _school is going to be awkward from now on._ Maybe he could just explain it all away on Monday.

Sora hadn't run that fast in a very long time. Panting and doing his best to catch his breath, he'd made it home in record time. How was he going to live this down? Who could he talk to about things? Riku? He'd probably kill him. Kairi? Maybe. Namine? He wasn't so sure, and he didn't want to bother any of them, anyway. Even with something that was this perplexing to him.

"Sora! You're home!" His mother greeted him with a smile. "Did you eat already?"

"I-I'm not hungry." Sora just wanted to go up to his room and think for a while. "I'm going to bed, okay?" Making his way to the stairs, he hoped his mother would understand. He couldn't talk right now. There was too much he had to sort through, and mentally scold himself for. Without wasting any more time, he went up to his room and plopped on the bed. _I'm such an idiot._


	6. Chapter 5: Face it later

**xXDark AceXx:** Thank you, for the review! I don't mind criticisms at all! You can always PM me, as well if you'd like! There is a reason that Roxas seems like he's 'going through the motions' and if I ever get around to _properly_ writing out the side story chapters I've begun to type up, then it should solve a few more things. ((Most of what you said, I had actually written. :3))

 **-Elegant**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: There's Always Tomorrow**

For the last two days, Sora had been holed up in his room. Never bothering to exit, save for basic necessities, namely, bathroom breaks. For the most part, he just wanted to be alone, and was doing his best to not interact with anyone- even members of his household. Maybe it came off as 'cold' but he just felt like he needed the time to himself. There was so much for him to think about, and no time for distractions. Even when the sunlight broke through his curtains, he barely took notice. _I think I screwed things up._

Burying his head into his pillow, Sora felt like a colossal idiot. _Why would Roxas want to kiss me?_

How could he actually be thinking such a stupid thing? Just because Roxas liked boys, didn't mean that he had an attraction to Sora. Of course there was some sort of reasoning behind Roxas leaning closer to him. But in that moment, he had absolutely no idea what was going on. Roxas was staring at him, and he didn't say a word while closing the space between them. Being extremely nervous, he shut his eyes. What else was he supposed to do in that situation? Well, there was the option of moving away, pushing Roxas away. _Why didn't I do that?_

 _Maybe it was because I was scared?_ Heart pounding, he replayed that moment in his head over a dozen times. There was a definite feeling of 'fear' going through him, but it didn't feel like the typical kind. Did that even make sense? How could you be afraid, but not, at the same time? Why did things have to be so complicated? Letting out a heavy sigh, there was one more troubling thing on his mind; _How am I going to face Roxas?_ Grabbing a handful of his blanket, he honestly didn't have an answer.

Hearing a light knocking on his door, he didn't answer. The knob turned and the door slowly opened, "Sora?"

His head was buried beneath the blanket, and he didn't make a move to remove it. Even though it wasn't remotely possible for him to see his mother, his eyes flicked back to where he assumed she was standing. "Yeah?"

"It's time for school...are you not feeling well?" She couldn't help but to notice he'd scarce left his room for the past two days in a row. He didn't even bother to eat, either.

"No." Sora answered truthfully, for the last two days he hadn't been feeling well. He'd also been ignoring his friends, not just his family for those days. Maybe he was making the situation out to be a lot worse off than it was- he couldn't help it. Nothing like this had really happened to him before and there was so much to think about. For one thing, he thought that their friendship was probably no longer an actual thing. Not after his screw up. Then there were his friends, who would probably think him an idiot for doing what he did.

"Do you want to stay home from school?" She would have checked his temperature, or gone through the regular routine of seeing if he was sick, but she'd make an exception. Sora rarely missed school, and even if he was faking- there had to be a reason for it. There was no reason to try and press him on the issue, as if he'd wanted to talk about things then he already would have.

Sora thought it over for a moment, "Yeah, I think so." Today he'd take the cowards way out. Tomorrow...well, he'd just have to see.

"Okay. Your father and I will be leaving for work. Feel better, alright?" She walked over to the door and did her best to silently shut it.

Hearing her steps die away, Sora sighed and shut his eyes. Maybe he'd try to get some sleep and forget about things, just for a little while.

Roxas frowned when he came to school and found that Sora wasn't there. They obviously had something to talk about, and Sora was probably avoiding him now. _Idiot._ As if running away from the problem (both metaphorically and literally) would solve anything. Holding out on the small hope that Sora would show up, Roxas glanced at the time- it didn't seem like it was going to happen. While it may have been true that he wasn't always on time, he usually showed up a decent chunk before class had started. When everyone showed up and the bell rang, his frown turned into a scowl. Not really knowing how to express his concern over the matter, it very quickly turned to annoyance/anger. How was it fair to accuse someone of trying to kiss you, and never giving them a chance to explain things? It was cotton candy!

Some people were more than likely to blame Roxas about Sora's sudden 'disappearance'. And by 'some people' he meant the behemoth. He didn't know if the red haired girl would hate him for it, Namine seemed a little too 'strange' for that kind of thing, but the large rude one was likely going to try and start something. Just as well, Roxas could use a punching bag right about now. Well, that just in the case of if Riku wanted to physically take him on- he could still win a battle of words, if the need arose. It wouldn't be nearly as satisfying. Maybe it was pent up 'rage' from the fact that he'd skipped his morning training routine, woken up late, and...someone was going to get his 'misdirected' rage. After a few minutes of brooking, Riku wandered in, and all theoretical situations went out the window. He was glaring- and his gaze was aimed completely at Roxas.

"What did you do to Sora?"

The sheer anger laced into Riku's voice likely would have forced a few people to shrink back and instantly answer his question- but Roxas wasn't some complacent moron who couldn't defend himself. Riku didn't instill fear in him, and he had no obligation to answer. "Why do _you_ assume _I_ did anything?" Roxas scoffed and haughtily replied to Riku's blatant accusation. He didn't need to know that he was 'right'.

"Maybe because you just 'answered' my question with a question, which is an evasion." Riku didn't much care for Roxas from the get go and if he'd done something to his friend on the weekend, then he was going to be in for it.

"I have nothing to evade, because I've done nothing wrong. You come in here with no proof, and decide to throw your baseless accusations all over the place. Got something _you_ feel guilty about?" Roxas decided to turn the situation on him. Maybe he wasn't 100% to blame for Sora's absence today- it could have been a mixture of Riku's treating him like garbage, and the fact that he'd thought Roxas had a romantic interest in him. Which...he didn't...did he? Thinking it over a little bit, he vaguely saw Riku rampaging and decided to actually listen so he could properly shut down all of what he was saying.

"For the past two days, he hasn't said a word to _any_ of his friends- you were the last one to see him. He won't even let us up into his room to check on him! I _know_ you're to blame! So what did you do that was so bad he became a shut in?" Riku didn't even bother to answer his question, it was a petty, weak accusation at best.

 _Two days._ Yep, it was definitely his fault. "Nobody likes being crowded. You're too clingy, and obviously overreach how important you actually are to him. What were you, again? The 'best friend' and he's not even bothering to talk to you? Ouch. Just because I was one of the last people to see him, doesn't mean I'm the cause of the problem. That's circumstantial 'evidence' at the very best." Sora locked himself in his room? Well, that settled things. The dumbass would rather lock himself away, play 'sick' and never bother to see him again. This is why he couldn't have 'friends'. You tell them one secret, and they get all weird on you. Would Sora have honestly thought he was making a move on him, if he didn't even know Roxas had sexual inclinations? No, he didn't think so.

Riku's eye twitched out of annoyance. This blonde kid seemed like quite the little bastard. How Sora managed to survive being even remotely near him, he had no idea. "It's because of _you_!" He could deny that fact as many times as he wanted, Roxas was definitely to blame! Sora spent almost 100% of his time with him now, and there was no other reason out there. "You also keep zoning out, and I'll bet that you're thinking of the exact reason on why he's not coming to school today."

"What are you, writing a book on him? In love with him? Because this feels less like 'friendship' and more like 'obsession'. He's not coming today, get over it." Why or how Riku knew that fact, he honestly didn't even want to know. It was probably some stupid, corny reason like he'd gone over to Sora's house and spoken to his parents. Tried to goad him out of his room, and failed miserably to do so. He wasn't going to just sit back and take all of the insults and accusations hurled his way. If Sora wanted to lock himself away and play a martyr for no reason, then whatever. It wasn't his fault. Well, it was...technically...but he didn't force him to stay in his room.

"It's called _worrying_ about someone, you heartless little sociopath!" Everything that came out of Roxas' mouth was nothing but an annoying flurry of nonsense. He was just about to reach his limit of anger toward the blonde. Part of him wanted to just grab Roxas by the collar of his hoodie and throttle him a little bit. Or at least knock some sense into him- the literal way.

"You look like you want to hit me. Go ahead, hit me. See what happens." Even though Roxas was seated, he was more than ready to hold whatever Riku could throw his way. If need be, Roxas would get up and the classroom would be in shambles, followed by another expulsion on his end of things. A new town. That wouldn't be so bad.

"You're not worth it." Riku was honestly finished trying to talk to the little monster. He had a disgusting personality that was 'disagreeable' to say the least. Resolving to just ignore Roxas until class started, and ended- he'd just have to go over to Sora's today after school.

Roxas didn't bother to speak another word. Riku wanted to wallow in Sora's self-pity, so he honestly had no idea what to do about it. Letting out a small sigh, he circled back to the fact that Sora was sulking because of a stupid reason. There wasn't anything he could do in this situation- even if he wanted to. Roxas didn't have Sora's phone number, he didn't know where he lived, some friend, huh? _Heartless sociopath._ That was a whole new one, even for him. Maybe it was true. He never really showed a hint of remorse for his actions. But he'd never been one to show his emotions on the surface. His own mother had said he 'didn't wear his heart on his sleeve'. It wasn't hard to see why plenty of people thought he was 'cold'.

Class eventually started, and Roxas didn't hear a word the teacher had to say. Compulsively, he wrote down everything on the board into his notebook. Not that it really helped, he wasn't following the lesson in the slightest, because his mind was completely elsewhere. Was this what 'worry' felt like? Decidedly, it was a useless emotion Roxas would have loved to do without. Tapping his mechanical pencil in his notebook, he didn't know what to do except for wait and see if Sora came back tomorrow. He could straighten out this mess, and while he did so, the meddling of Sora's friends wouldn't help anything. _Friends._ Roxas factually just meant Riku.

The large pain in his ass who was nothing but a busybody.

Once the bell rang, Roxas finally clued in to the fact that class was over, and he swiftly went out of the room. Going to his locker, he grabbed his gym clothes and went to class. He glanced at the change room on his way to the bathroom, remembering his encounter with Sora in there. _I peeked at him while he was getting dressed._ Embarrassed at the memory, he had to wonder if this _was_ his fault. Did he give mixed signals out there? Was he flirting with Sora, without even noticing? It didn't seem like, or at the very least, nothing came to mind. In fact, he treated him like less than a person, let alone love interest. So, there was no flirting on his part- but there was a subtle, physical attraction.

Running his fingers through his hair, he let out an exasperated, long sigh. Shutting his eyes, just for a moment, he wondered why all of his problems were traceable back to Sora. Or, why he _let_ Sora be the center of all his problems. Usually by now he'd cut a person off, entirely. But Sora was as stubborn as he, if not more so. No matter how rude he was, Sora just seemed to take it and endure through. Of course, Sora did mention the fact that he disliked the treatment to other people, not that it was necessarily 'wrong' to do so. But he did like to tell little white lies every now and again to try and make everyone feel better about certain situations. _Liar._ It was then that Roxas realized he _was_ flirting a bit with Sora. Those teasing not-so-accusations on his end toward Sora were definite signs of flirtation.

 _I'm an idiot._

Sora just always made unique expressions whenever he and Roxas were speaking. Although Roxas hadn't admitted it aloud, he rather enjoyed the way that Sora's expressions came about. Always wearing a dumb smile on his face, to reassure other people. It was likely a front just so they never felt uncomfortable around him, because he was a 'kind' person. It was likely the reason why he decided to go with Roxas through that house. So he could breakdown, cry, show off fear and not have to wear that ridiculous smile throughout the whole ordeal. _Maybe he's just more comfortable around me._ He reacted to situations far differently than most people, and for the most part- it made him more interesting. Although, considering his reaction to current events, Sora's 'interesting' behavior became nothing of a nuisance. He could actually be quite manly, if he wanted to be. Not that he seemed emasculate, or anything.

 _Sora, was just...Sora._

The statement he hadn't understood on his very first day of school now seemed to make sense. Shaking his head, Roxas finished getting dressed and joined the rest of the class. Continuing the apparent trend of zoning out, he hadn't even heard that the class were going to be doing beep tests. Lining up with the rest of the students, Roxas finally clued in to what they were doing (considering he didn't know anyone in the class, save for Sora- he didn't bother asking any of them what they were to do). Hearing the first beep, he started with a moderately slow pace. Everyone could pass this one, even the worst runner would be able to make it in time.

Progressively getting faster each time, a few people were eliminated along the way and forced to do the 'walk of shame' for doing so. With each new beep, it seemed that a person was forced to join the ranks of the 'losers'. Not that they 'lost' exactly, this was just for placement on your physical ability level. Keeping up with, and surpassing a few of the seniors, Roxas actually began to put in effort to continue on. Being the last one standing, he was getting relatively high in the run, even earning the odd cheer from his classmates. Thankful for his high stamina, he continued until he eventually joined those who lost out. Sitting down, he needed a moment or two to recuperate.

"That was amazing! You're really fast!" a few girls came over to Roxas, giggling and trying to strike up conversation.

Still catching his breath, Roxas just stared up at the unfamiliar girls. Why were they speaking to him now, of all times?

"Would you...um...if it's not too much trouble...after class, could you come with me?" one of the girls in the back who seemed completely shy was inviting him out.

"Why?" Roxas finally caught his breath and honestly wanted her to say it. He knew that it was probably going to be some sort of confession, even though he'd never seen this girl before in his life. If only she knew that she was barking up the wrong tree, and wasting both of their time.

"I...I want to talk to you!" she didn't even give him the chance to reply, and almost sprinted away.

 _Girls._ Roxas sighed, he'd just have to indulge her. Maybe he'd met up with her in a hallway before, and said some offhand comment that she mistook for flirtation, or spoken to her in this class, somehow. Roxas wasn't sure, but maybe he'd given her a false hope that was completely out of the question. For once, he had a problem that couldn't be blamed on Sora. When the bell rang, Roxas was forced to go to the change rooms and quickly shower. The girl was likely waiting, and he didn't want to keep her that way. It was best to just firmly reject her so that they could both get on with their lives. Getting himself dressed, he left the change room and found her waiting.

Roxas shut his eyes, sighed and followed her outside. Her two friends from earlier had been waiting, he guessed because they were there for 'backup'.

"Thank you...for coming." she nervously smiled, and Roxas just nodded to her.

Willing her to hurry up and say what she wanted, he hoped this wouldn't take long.

"I just...I wanted to say...I like you! And...I wanted to see...if...maybe...ifitwouldn'tbetoomuchtroublewouldyouliketogoonadatewithme?"

Roxas stared blankly at her. She said the last part of her sentence so fast that it came out as one long blurb of a word. "No." He turned her down with one word, and began to walk away.

"Hey!"

Stopping with his hand on the door, he turned his head. The nervous girl looked crushed, but either girl behind her looked totally pissed off. He assumed that they were going to give him a piece of their mind, and explain that he should 'give her a chance' or some irritating drivel. Why? Was it just because she was a girl, and therefore seen as 'fragile'? Or was it that she had 'poured out her heart' or something like that? Not every confession sent his way had merit. This one definitely seemed groundless, and as insincere as that girl who kissed him. They say something that they 'liked' and decided to gamble on the possibility that he'd reciprocate. Call him 'crazy' but who did that kind of thing? _If_ he ever just walked up to a boy he liked and decided to kiss him, he'd get a fist swung at him, called a 'pervert', likely charged with some form of sexual harassment and seen as 'gross'.

"You could at least think it over!" the second girl, who happened to be the tallest was calling him out.

"Why?" Roxas asked, "I didn't need anymore time to think it over then that. She asked me a question, I gave an answer- that's the end of it."

"Why are you being so mean?" The first one asked, surprised at how rude the blonde boy was.

"I'm _not_." Roxas scoffed. If anyone here was being rude, it was them for deciding to try and ambush him. "What do you like about me?" Deciding to completely ignore the girls and speak to the one who'd brought him out there in the first place, he wanted to explain things thoroughly, so something like this wasn't likely to happen again.

The shy girl who seemed on the verge of tears, looked up at him. "I just...I thought you were really cool...I guess. You're good looking, athletic, smart, and I've seen what you can do at school! You're amazing!"

Roxas figured as much. "Those are all superficial reasons to 'like' someone." She may not like to hear it, but it was the honest truth. "Just because you think someone is physically attractive, doesn't mean you have to 'like' them. Being good at activities isn't a unique quality, many people can do lots of things others can't. I'm not the best at anything, but I'm not half-assed to the point that I give up without trying. Don't get me wrong- I find it admirable that you put yourself on the line, but, for future reference, ditch the friends. They don't exactly have your best interests in mind." That line about physical attraction was probably meant more for himself, then anything. Roxas felt he said all that he needed to, and left the trio behind him.

"We'll start a rumor that you're gay!"

Recognizing the voice to be the tall one, Roxas shrugged his shoulders and didn't bother to look back. "Go ahead." Opening the school door, he walked back inside and made his way to his locker. There were worse things than petty rumors started by girls with grudges. Hearing that he rejected the girl in question, most people weren't likely to believe it, anyway. Grabbing his lunch, Roxas sat at his table and decided to put the whole experience behind him. Since Sora wasn't at school today, he'd actually be eating alone. Going back to his old routine wouldn't be too bad, would it?

"Roxas."

Looking up, he'd never noticed the red haired girl sat opposite him.

"Oh. I'm sorry! You don't know my name...I'm Kairi." Kairi introduced herself, she'd guessed from his mild confusion that he had no idea who she was. Well, other then 'Sora's friend' more than likely.

"Is there something you wanted?" Roxas asked, he hoped that this wasn't another confession to be hurled his way.

"To talk to you. I hope you don't mind." Kairi smiled apologetically for just barging in on him at lunch.

"What about?" Roxas figured the behemoth probably sent her over. A girl to sweet talk him and likely force him to admit Sora's not coming to school was his fault. Not exactly the most original idea out there.

"Sora. He hasn't been talking to any of us, for the past two days. Is he okay? Did he seem okay after he left the house?" Kairi seemed genuinely worried for her friend.

"He was still a bit scared. It was late, so I let him stay over at my place. He seemed fine." Roxas didn't bother to tell her about the fact that Sora was freaking out about the 'kiss'.

"He stayed with you? So long as he was okay..." Kairi was really glad to hear that.

"Yeah, he was fine. What's the big deal? Maybe he's got the stomach flu, or something. He'll talk to all of you when he's ready, right?" Roxas wasn't really good at 'comforting' people, so he didn't really have an idea on what to say. Well, anything but the truth, apparently.

"I guess you're right." Kairi smiled and nodded, "I hope he's okay! I really do! We're going to visit his house today, you should come! I'm sure that Sora would really like it if you came along! Maybe he'd talk to you...? And I'm really glad you were able to help him. He really likes you, you know?" From all the things she'd heard Sora say about Roxas, he was absolutely thrilled to just be around his newfound friend.

"I can't do that." Roxas shot down the idea, just like with the girl from before, he didn't mean to come off as 'rude' or 'cold' but his usual tone of voice was very accommodating to others. "I don't think he'd like to see me, right now...let alone talk." All he ever heard from Sora's friends was how much he 'liked' him. He let out a small, almost laugh at that statement. Picturing Sora gush about everything he did, it seemed so strange. Maybe he talked to other people so much about him, because Roxas wasn't exactly the easiest or best person to try and talk to.

"Oh? Are you two fighting, too?" Kairi instantly looked concerned, "I hope you can make up."

Thinking it over, he couldn't exactly call it a 'fight'. More of a...misunderstanding. "You could say something along those lines. It's not a 'fight' but I know I'm probably the last person he wants to see, let alone deal with. The behemoth can go with you guys, I'm sure he believes that he can quell away whatever is bugging Sora." Roxas would probably never properly say the name 'Riku' when ever referencing the male in question, he'd pissed him off to the point that he wasn't deserving of a name.

"I'm not sure I understand..." Kairi admitted, she honestly had no idea on what Roxas meant. Sora had a problem with him, but it wasn't a fight? Then what else could it be? What could make Sora not want to see or talk to Roxas? "Behemoth?" Finally cluing in to that word, she wondered who he could be talking about.

"You know, the big one who towers over the rest of us humans. Grumpy. Sulks around Sora, basically hangs off his every word. Calls himself 'best friend'." Roxas genuinely didn't want to say Riku's name at any point in time.

"Oh. You mean Riku!" Kairi didn't pay any mind to the names Roxas called him. She'd heard some more...'colorful' words from Riku himself about the blonde. Apparently, the feeling was mutual. "He'll be coming along, too. I guess you won't want to if he comes along, huh?"

"It's more incentive to not go." Roxas nodded.

"Okay, that's fair." Kairi nodded, she didn't want to start problems between them, or force either boy into a situation they weren't comfortable in. "Listen...if you change your mind, or if you want to talk to Sora..." Trailing off, the redhead pulled out her notebook, quickly wrote something down and tore out the piece of paper she'd been writing on. "This is his number, okay? Since you're in all his classes, you'll be able to help him out, right? It's just in case. If he's sick, like you said he might be, then Sora could end up missing a few more days. At least this way he'll be able to know what he's missed out on, right?"

Roxas looked down at the paper she slid over to him. Taking into account her reasoning, it seemed like a good idea. But he wasn't so sure Sora would even bother with his texts. And even less sure he wanted Sora to have his phone number. "I'll make sure he knows what he missed out on." There was no point in him falling behind, right?

"Thank you." Kairi smiled, the bell signaling the end of their lunch period rang, and she excused herself.

 _'You won't even bother texting me back, will you, Sora?'_ Roxas wasn't sure if he should try and reach out to him. Was there a point? He was only in their third class of the day, and it wasn't as if Gym nor Art would give them assignments. Running his fingers through his hair, Roxas let out a sigh. Class started, and he soon tossed away his ideas of texting Sora.

"Everyone stop fiddling around!" DiZ dropped a large stack of binders on his desk, that instantly hushed the group. "I take my classes _very_ seriously, and I expect the same from all of you. If you thought you were going to get away with chatting to friends sitting beside you, please, let it be known I will move you. And if you decide to be a problematic student, then I will isolate you. Believe me, there will be no joy to be had when you sit beside me for every single class until the end of the semester. And, for those of you who may end up with me next year, or repeating this class- there will be no second chances." One student began to whisper to another, and DiZ instantly threw a binder against the wall. Everyone in the room seemed to cringe, save for Roxas.

Roxas was actually really enjoying this experience. Finally, a teacher who didn't put up with nonsense, and actually had some sort of punishment system in place for not only offenders, but _repeat_ offenders. He could get used to this class. Hell, if he actually stayed in this school, then he'd request DiZ for every single English class he had left.

"Now, is anyone going to interrupt my lessons again? Or shall I continue?" DiZ waited for anyone to dare say they'd rather chat with their friends. After a few moments, he went back to writing on the board.

Their assignment, it seemed, was a short written story with a topic of their choosing. Two pages long, but double spaced. Why they even did such a thing, Roxas would never understand. A double spaced two page written work would be one page if they didn't double space. Far be it from him to argue with the teacher- especially this one. Thinking about a topic to write about, Roxas sifted through things he wanted to do. Not that anything really came to mind, as he was busy dealing with Sora drama. So, on that note, he has 'sexual inclinations' down for a topic, 'misunderstandings'...Roxas eventually found a proper topic. Writing about him and Sora wouldn't help anything, so he decided to deal with stereotypes amongst the sexes when it came to searching for a significant other.

 _Why is it, that when a boy asks a girl out and is shot down then is demanding of an explanation he's 'rude' and 'overbearing'? When a girl does the same thing, she's 'inquisitive' and 'curious'. If a boy shoots her down with the word 'no' and not some long, romanticized speech on while he's 'thankful' for her interest, he isn't the right one for her, and that she should continue looking elsewhere, he's a 'jerk', a 'pig' or thought of as some sort of 'playboy'. Even going so far as to be branded 'gay' for declining anything to do with that person? But if a girl shoots him down, then that's 'just the way it works', right? She's 'strong' and 'smart' for not bothering to date that person._

Roxas actually had a lot to say on the subject, apparently. His thoughts were turning into quite the long story, and he was even running out of room to write. He'd been through these many stigmas, due to the fact that A; people thought he was attractive, ergo would like to date whomever threw themselves at him. B: He was somehow 'kind' because of his looks, not that anyone ever took the time to learn who the real him was. He honestly had no idea how anyone ever found him to be inviting. Maybe it was the light hair and eyes. But he was no Ventus- so it was all just strange. Misconceptions seemed to be one of the things he was best at. Obviously these things happened because not one person bothered to speak to him. They saw qualities in him and turned him into some sort of object for their desires.

 _'It's **not** my fault'. _

Roxas truly believed that. He didn't falsely advertise himself as a 'Sora' type. People just thought he was.

Writing out the rest of his assignment, he handed it in just in time for class to finish. Roxas made his way to Art, and was grateful the day had neared its end. Namine was waiting at the usual table, even smiling and waving him over. Roxas didn't know why he went over, maybe because there was nowhere else to sit, and also due to the fact that she wasn't exactly a disagreeable person to be nearby.

"Hello, Roxas." Namine smiled, already working on her picture of him. It was already finely detailed, but she seemed to be striving for absolute perfection.

"Namine." Roxas nodded to her, grabbing his picture of Sora and working a bit more on the portrait. He knew it was only a matter of time until she brought up Sora. Every passing second, he waited for her to bring him up and start talking about the fact that he should go over there, speak to him and somehow make the situation all better. As if he was some sort of cure all to something like this. Whether or not Sora 'liked' him didn't exactly matter- he didn't want to speak to him. That much was clear when he bolted from him and didn't bother to make contact, or do much else.

"Is something on your mind?" Namine asked, in-between erasing and redrawing portions of his portrait. Periodically, she'd glance up just to look at him for reference, and Roxas seemed troubled. Even if he wouldn't admit it out loud, he actually had pretty 'telling' body language. Was he worried about Sora not being here? She was sure Kairi and Riku had both spoken to him at different points of the day, and she wasn't sure he'd like to talk about it. He barely spoke to her at all, and she didn't exactly get the sense he enjoyed hers or anyone elses company. But he did seem to 'put up' with Sora far more then anyone else. Maybe he had a soft spot for him?

"Don't you want to ask me about your friend?" Roxas countered her question with his own, instantly going on the defensive. It was just a simple question on her end, but he still took it as a form of 'aggression' for no reason. Maybe because people always tended to do things that were usually disagreeable to him. Like those girls who dragged him aside, decided he was someone they found to be desirable, then instantly went from 'sweet' to 'sour' in an instant.

"No." Namine smiled at him and gently shook her head. "If you wanted to talk about Sora, then you'd initiate the conversation, right? I'm not going to press issues, or make you feel like you have to talk about it, just because we're sitting together. If you want to just sit here in silence, then that's just fine with me." She brushed her bangs out of her eyes, and continued to study her subject.

Roxas actually found himself surprised. She didn't seem to react to his tone of voice, as most would think it rude and not bother to speak with him. "Namine..." He started to ask a question, but he didn't feel like he should.

"What's on your mind?" Namine asked, "You don't have to be afraid! Feel free to tell me anything! And don't worry- I won't tell anyone else, okay?"

"I want your honest opinion." Roxas didn't sugar coat what he was about to say, and he didn't want her to feel like she couldn't answer him truthfully. Placing down his pencil, and moving aside his drawing of Sora, he wanted to be absolutely serious. "Do you think I'm...heartless?" It wasn't that he was offended by Riku's statement, he'd just been told that a lot by people. He was 'ruthless' in conversation and often didn't put into account how others may feel by what he had to say.

"Honestly? No." Namine shook her head, "I know you may _want_ people to think that you're emotionless, and don't care about anything. But you're actually a really kind, caring, nice boy who cares more than he says he does, right?" She'd been watching his interactions with Sora- it was actually fairly obvious to her. Roxas could deny it, but she knew the truth for herself.

"How did you get that opinion? You barely know me." Roxas felt strange having someone call him 'kind, caring and nice'.

"Because you're worried about Sora, right? You may treat him harshly- but that's just the way you are. It's your way of showing you care, right? You can't help but to be you, and no one can force you to change who you are." But if Namine had to bet on a person who could do that, it would be Sora. He just seemed to have a quality that brought out the 'good' in others, no matter the situation.

"I'm not worried." Roxas frowned a bit, shaking his head. _'How did she know?'_ "He says we're 'friends'- but I haven't had one in so long I don't even know how to treat someone like that." Namine seemed to have quite the observational skills.

"Of course, my mistake." Namine giggled slightly. "You don't like being around people, do you, Roxas?"

"Not really. I've rarely, if ever found people I could stand to be around. The one person who stood by me the most I actually left behind." Roxas actually missed Axel, or at least, he thought he did. He'd been his longest standing friend, and it sucked that they couldn't hang out anymore. They'd both put up with each other for a long time, and enabled each others quirks. From Axel's pranks to Roxas' abrasive, 'strong' personality.

"Roxas...are you lonely?" Namine hoped she wasn't overstepping any boundaries between them. He may stop speaking to her, but she just got the sense that he wanted 'someone'.

"Why...why would you think that?" Roxas was content being alone. Life was easier, that way.

"Because...you seem like your guard is always up. Like there's always some threat coming your way, and you need to be ready for it. Even on your fist day, you cut everyone off and decided to be alone. Did something happen with that person you were talking about?" Namine put down her things, and folded her hands neatly in her lap, if they were going to have a 'serious' conversation, then she didn't want to be rude to Roxas.

"Not with him, no." Roxas shook his head, "It was like your behemoth of a friend said, I got kicked out of school. For fighting. Naturally, we lost touch." So, he came off as 'guarded' to people?

"Fighting?" Namine was curious.

"Some secrets cost you friendships and make you enemies." Roxas didn't want to elaborate. He had an unlucky streak with people whom he told that secret to, and despite how 'open-minded' she thought she was, Namine probably wouldn't be able to handle it, either.

"You haven't met the right people. Roxas, friends are supposed to accept you, for who you are. They're not supposed to abandon you, and make you feel as if you can't open up. Losing parts of yourself, just to accommodate others...isn't really living, is it?" Namine waited for an answer, but Roxas didn't appear to want a conversation, anymore. So she picked her things back up and started to draw once more.

 _'You convince yourself with logic, that it's okay to be the way you are. Locking away parts of yourself, to avoid saying how you really feel. You deserve to be alone!'_ What Namine said resonated with Roxas. It also reminded him of another girl, who had her own opinions of him. The difference being, Namine wasn't a girl confessing to him, and she didn't say it just to hurt him. That girls words didn't do anything, but Namine's gave him a bit of truth. People got the wrong idea, because he let them. Being standoffish just because he'd had his fair share of people, and didn't want them to get close to him.

Continuing their drawing until class ended, Namine carefully placed her drawing of Roxas away. "Goodbye, Roxas."

"Goodbye." Roxas barely had time to see her wave him off, before she was out the door. Deciding now was the best time to text Sora, he quickly punched in his number. _'Math: Review chapter 1.4 Questions 1-11. Gym: Beep test. English: Two page double spaced written assignment. Art: Continue on portraits. -Roxas'_ Hitting 'send' he decided to just go home, and think about a few things.

Namine knocked on the front door of Sora's home, waiting for someone to answer the door. After a few idle moments of standing still, his mother opened the door.

"Namine!"

"Hello. Is Sora home?" Namine asked, hoping she could get to speak to him.

"He's upstairs...I'm not sure if he's up to it, but you can try." Stepping aside, she gave Namine the opportunity to come inside.

"Thank you." Namine politely went past Sora's mom and walked upstairs to his room. Knocking gently on the door, there was no answer. "Sora? Mind if I come in?" Silence lingered in the air, and he wasn't sure if he was awake. If not, then she could just leave and come back some other time. Beginning to walk away, she decided to leave it for later.

"Come in." Sora's voice was barely loud enough for Namine to hear.

Namine turned around and opened the door, "Sora? It's so dark in here." His light wasn't on, and the blinds were shut. He seemed to be huddled up on the bed, but she couldn't exactly tell.

"I'm here." Sora said, though his words became muddled from the blanket covering his face. He'd heard her start to walk away, and felt like it was the right decision to let Namine come in. He hadn't done much talking in the last 48 hours, and if ever there was someone to speak about your problems to, it was Namine.

"Mind if I turn on the light?" Namine asked, waiting for him to answer. Had Sora been bundled up like this, all day?

"No." Sora shook his head, letting out a sigh. He hadn't been in the light all day, save for when some stray bits of sunlight came in through the blinds- then he shut them so it wouldn't come back in. Ordinarily he would have been terrified of the dark, but today of all days it seemed to be offering him the most comfort. Sora was glad that Namine had come. When Riku came by this morning, he'd actually gotten mad because Sora didn't let him come in. He wasn't in the mood to talk, then, and he honestly didn't feel like he could tell Riku about what had happened. What if it started problems between him and Roxas? Sora would rather keep it bottled in then have people close to him fight.

Namine flicked on the switch and silently shut the door behind her. "Are you okay?" She asked, walking over to Sora and sitting on the foot of his bed. Judging by the lump that was Sora, she wasn't sitting on his feet, and glad to not have accidentally hurt her friend. Sora had never seen this upset before, what happened?

"I don't know." Sora admitted, feeling her indent on the bed when she sat down. He honestly had no idea, ever since two days ago, he felt... _strange_. There was so many thoughts racing through his mind, and he was just trying to make sense of them all. Replaying the scene of him and Roxas at the amusement park didn't help anything. It just made him feel more of that strangeness.

"What's the matter? Are you sick?" Namine didn't want to bother him if he had the flu, he was probably exhausted. But she got the feeling that this wasn't that kind of 'sick'. He seemed more 'down', if anything. Hopefully he'd feel good enough to talk about his problem with her, before Kairi and Riku came. Some people really preferred the one on one approach.

"I'm not sick." Sora shot down the first part, unsure of if he should answer her first question. It was a pressing issue, and one that he couldn't even make sense of.

"Then what's the matter?" Namine wanted to know, she had a slight idea of what it could be, but wanted to affirm the answer for herself. Truth be told, she only knew that it had to do with Sora and Roxas. And that was because Roxas had brought up Sora in art class.

"I don't know if I can tell you." Sora admitted, shaking his head.

"Is it a secret?" Namine didn't want to force him if he didn't feel comfortable enough to say it.

"Kind of." It wasn't a 'bad' secret, just a personal one that he didn't necessarily want to share.

His words lingered in the air, and Namine wasn't sure what to say. A secret that he felt he couldn't tell her? Maybe she should just guess until she came relatively close to what he thought was a large secret. This way, it would feel like she didn't know nor talk to other people about it earlier.

"Is it...about one of us?" Namine asked.

"No." Sora shook his head.

"Is it...about you?"

"Yes."

"Is it...about you and someone else?" On seeing him nod again, she had an idea. "Is it...you and Roxas?" Her hunch seemed to payoff, as Sora stiffened a bit and then nodded. "What happened?"

Sora could feel his cheeks get hot. He was actually glad his face was hidden from her view. "I stayed at his house, after we were at the haunted mansion. He said it was too late for me to go home, and I was honestly just happy to not be stuck at home, alone after that experience." At least if he got too scared, he likely could have gotten Roxas to stay with him.

"That doesn't seem so bad. I'm glad for you." Namine smiled, but she felt like something was going to derail the story. So, Sora stayed home to avoid seeing Roxas. Did they have a fight at the end of their day of fun? What could have happened that Sora decided running away was the better option, instead of facing Roxas?

"The next day we didn't have anything planned, so I suggested that we go out and have some fun, since it was the weekend. Roxas let me borrow some clothes, shared a few stories between the two of us. He even showed me some of his cool fighting tricks..." Sora removed the blanket from himself and sat up, making eye contact with her. "After that, we went out and visited a few places around town. The arcade, the beach, amusement park..." They actually had a very long day together. His favorite part had been when Roxas discovered sea-salt ice-cream.

"It sounds like you had fun." Namine nodded, was this where things went bad?

"I did, and I think Roxas did, too. We went on a lot of the rides, saw the fireworks...he got my cotton candy. And we sat on a bench together, watching fireworks. I noticed him leaning in closer to me, and...I thought he was going to kiss me..." Sora trailed off. In the moment, that's exactly what it seemed like. But he was an idiot, as there was no way Roxas liked him like that. He barely even put up with him, so how could he think of him like _that_?

Namine's eyes widened a bit, "Did he kiss you!?" She didn't mean to sound as surprised as she did.

"N-no!" Sora vigorously shook his head from side to side. "There was cotton candy on my face...he was pulling it off."

Namine heard the slight 'disappointment' and saw it on Sora's face when he said that. He actually seemed to pout a bit. Did he know what facial expressions he was making? "Did you _want_ him to kiss you?" She had no idea if Roxas liked boys, or not- but he seemed to have an interest in Sora. And Sora liked Roxas, but she already had a feeling about that. He'd been more excited about Roxas then most anything in the previous years had ever been to him. Seeing how happy the blonde boy made him, she honestly didn't mind if it was Roxas. The only problem, was that Roxas was, in fact, _Roxas_. Could he treat a situation like this delicately?

"I...I don't know." Sora admitted, finally looking at her again. Fidgeting with his hands a bit, Sora felt strange. Eventually, is hands gripped the blankets, and he wasn't sure what else to say. This was a whole new area to him, and he didn't know how to handle it. Had he completely ruined his chance of being friends with Roxas?

"Sora...do you like Roxas?" Namine asked, wondering if he knew what she meant.

"Of course!" Sora nodded, answering without hesitance and a great amount of innocence when he said that fact.

Namine smiled and shook her head. Sora hadn't understood the depth of her question. He clearly thought she meant on a basic friendship level. "When you two spent the day together, how did you feel?"

"Happy...Really happy!" Sora explained it as simplistic as he could. He was glad they could spend time together, and that they were actually becoming friends. And then a thought dawned on him. "He _never_ had sea-salt ice-cream before, can you believe that!? When Roxas ate it, he really liked it!" Sora couldn't resist a small laugh, when he thought about Roxas sharing with him.

Just seeing the way Sora happily gushed about him, Namine had her answer; _Sora liked Roxas._ "I actually can't. Who can resist sea-salt ice-cream?" Namine smiled, enjoying his laughter.

"Do you think...did I mess things up?" Sora asked, his smile fading as he began to dwell on the situation he was currently stuck in.

"No." Namine shook her head, "Do you think you can face Roxas? Are you going to come to school, tomorrow?"

"I don't know." Sora answered the first part of her question, sighing and hugging his knees to his chest. "I'll have to go. I can't keep missing school, just because I'm scared."

"Well, you'll have all of us there, you know? If you're not ready to talk about it Roxas, then you're not ready." Namine could understand why he had anxiety. As far as she knew, Sora had never actually 'liked' someone like this- he was always too busy with his friends and having a good time. Maybe she should have known from the get go that his interest in Roxas was different from just simple 'friendship'. It was clear that there would be a problem if he and Roxas got together, and that problem came in the form of Riku. Kairi would likely be supportive of it, as would Namine. Sora was a bit dense, so she figured that he'd need a little 'help' from her end.

"Yeah. I'm glad. Thank you." Sora smiled, "I'm just not sure if he'll get mad at me. I don't want him to be mad." Truthfully, that was one of the things he worried about the most. And the fact that Roxas could tell him that they were no longer friends, to leave him alone. The list of things Roxas could, would and may say was nearly endless. It only made the thought of tomorrow all the more terrifying.

"You won't know until you talk to him." Namine wanted to make sure she got that point across. Sora and Roxas definitely needed to talk. She'd love to be there to mediate between them, but it just wouldn't be possible. This was a really private matter, and she'd make sure it stayed that way.

"You're right. I'll try." Sora knew it would be the right thing to do. Even if he felt like he couldn't do it- he had to, right?

About to say more, they were both startled by knocks on the door.

"Sora?" Kairi asked, "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Sora didn't hesitate.

"Oh. You're here!" Kairi smiled at Namine, who was sitting on the foot of Sora's bed.

"Come join the club." Namine moved to sit beside Sora, "Help me cheer up Sora."

"Okay." Kairi nodded, walking over to the pair, and sitting on the other side of Sora. "Are you feeling better?"

"I think so. Namine really helped me." Sora was honestly feeling way better than he had before.

"I'm glad." Namine smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, it's good to know you're feeling better." Kairi mirrored Namine's action, both girls hugging the brunette boy. "Don't scare us like that again, okay?" It was a joke, but the group had really worried about him. She wanted to ask if Roxas had texted Sora, but Roxas had said they weren't on speaking terms at the moment, so it didn't seem like the right time to do so.

"I promise, I won't!" Sora laughed, placing his arms behind either girl and hugging them back. Ever since he could remember, the three of them always hugged like this, regardless of who was feeling 'down'. Oddly enough, the girls never did it to Riku. Maybe it was just a 'special' thing for him and them? Both girls joined him in the laughter, but it all seemed to stop the moment Riku walked through the door.

"Don't let the fun die down on my account." Riku was glad to see Sora actually doing something. When he spoke this morning, he barely had any life to him, at all.

"You made it!" Namine smiled, hoping that the awkward air amongst friends would die down.

"Of course." Riku sat on the end of Sora's bed, "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah! I'm fine!" Sora nodded, smiling for the added effect. "Thank you, all of you- for coming." He honestly felt so 'loved' in the moment. Having all of his friends in the room with him, laughing and having fun.

"We're all glad to hear it." Kairi smiled, "Right, guys?"

"Yeah. It's nice to see." Riku nodded, "So, do you need help with your homework?"

"Ah...I forgot about that." Sora dreaded the idea behind homework. He had no idea what his assignments were. Feeling a slight 'buzz' from his pocket, he took out his phone and saw a text from Roxas. "How did...?" Did Sora give him his phone number?

"Oh! Good! He gave you your assignments!" Kairi was glad that Roxas did what she suggested.

"You gave him my phone number?" Sora was a bit surprised by that.

Kairi nodded, "You have all the same classes, right? Since he already has and knows all of the homework, it was easier then going to all of your teachers to ask."

"Right. That makes sense." Sora nodded, "Again, thank you."

"No problem."

"Anything you need help with?" Riku asked, not exactly happy that Roxas was texting Sora, but it had helped him out right now. Not that he'd ever appreciate anything that little runt did, but Sora seemed grateful and happy- that was all that mattered.

Sora thought about it for a moment or two. Did he need help with the math homework? Probably not- Roxas was an exceptionally good tutor. Math was actually really easy for him to understand now, just because of that. There was no way Riku could help him with gym- Sora would likely have to go during a make up day and fix it. English was pretty straight forward, and there was nothing he could do about art. "I think with math." It would give them both something to do together, and maybe Riku would like to help him? He missed having Riku's help with things, and it honestly was just nice to be with everyone. Even if he'd been taking them a bit for granted for the last little while. He'd spent so much time with Roxas that they basically didn't see him at all.

"Okay." Riku nodded, so Roxas' teachings hadn't stuck with him, after all? He almost smirked at the thought that Roxas wasn't as smart as he played himself off to be. Anything to knock him down a few pegs, really. "I also have the notes, if you need them."

"Great!" Sora moved away from the girls and took out his books, working side by side with Riku. Even though he understood every single question, he still took up Riku on his offer for help. It seemed to make Riku happy, and by extension- Sora. After his math assignment was finished, Sora moved on to English and periodically took breaks to engage with his friends, talking and laughing along the way. It seemed all of the friends really needed the time together. He was really grateful to have the best friends a person could ever have. Once it started to get dark, they all decided it was time to go, as it was a school night, after all.

"Goodbye, Sora!" Kairi smiled and waved, walking out the door.

"Goodbye!" Namine announced her departure just after Kairi.

"See ya." Riku nodded to Sora.

"Goodbye guys!" Sora walked them to the front door, and waved them off. Tomorrow was going to be a very eventful day- he just knew it. Could he face Roxas? Thinking it over, he figured he could with their help. Shutting the front door, Sora was about to go upstairs, but his mother stopped him.

"Would you like to join us for dinner?" She asked.

"Oh. Sure!" Sora didn't even clue in that it was time for dinner. Walking back down the stairs, he sat at the table with his parents.

"Are you finally feeling better, Sora?" His mother asked, happy that he seemed to be okay.

"I think so!" Sora smiled and nodded, "Thank you, for worrying about me." He didn't mean to cause so much worry among the people in his life. Sora was just having a problem that couldn't be resolved, not with any of their help- and it still wasn't. But come tomorrow, he was going to do his best to fix things. Roxas told him to never give up, so long as he had a goal in mind, then everything would be fine. He'd made a mistake, and it was going to be rectified. No matter how long it would take for him to do, he was going to get him and Roxas back on good terms.


	7. Chapter 6: Are we Dating?

So sorry for the lengthy wait! I've just been swamped with responsibilities and tedious things that like to get in the way. i.e. Getting a kitten (His name is Jasper), buying him his food, shots, bank breaking vet visits, the works. Working. Writing a multitude of chapters for this at the same time and wondering which side-story chapters I'll actually use or discard. ((Not all of them make the final cut.))

-Elegant

* * *

He'd gotten no sleep, at all. Or, maybe he did, and it was just one of 'those' times where you got x amount of hours, but it felt like you'd open and shut your eyes with no breaks in-between. Staring up at the ceiling, Sora honestly couldn't tell the difference. More than likely owing to the fact that all he could manage to do, was stress and worry about all the variables that could happen when he arrived at school today, without even meaning to. If only there was some way he could just shut it all off, get over the issues that would likely seem 'small' to other people, brush himself off, and jump out of his bed. But, at the same time, Sora couldn't help feeling the absolute opposite. There was an appeal of staying home again to ditch all of his responsibilities, but that wouldn't help anything. Letting out a heavy sigh, Sora tried to find the will to stand up and start his day. Whether or not it took a minute, 10, 20 or even a bit longer, he'd still have to suck it up and brace himself for what was to come. His heart was pounding. Sora had never really felt this nervous, before. He was just going to school, right? To see a friend, and try to explain away a situation that was a misunderstanding and see if he could salvage the remnants of their friendship. That is, if they still had a standing relationship and he hadn't completely blown it due to his own stupidity. No pressure, or anything. Would Roxas be angry at him? Sora didn't do well when people were mad at him. Letting out a heavy sigh, he didn't know how to strike up the conversation. Should he drag Roxas off to somewhere private? That seemed like the better choice, considering he hated people getting into his business. He had to wonder if he was going to be hit by Roxas for what had happened at the amusement park. Sora didn't want to be stuck thinking about all of these situations, anymore. He wanted the situation to be resolved so that his mind could be at ease.

Sora was still semi in shock from the fact that his mother had entered his room without him noticing to formulate a proper answer. However on noticing that she wouldn't be leaving without him answering her back, he steadied himself and gave in."No! Nothing's wrong...why do you ask?"

"You didn't even notice me come in...and you were already awake, sitting here and doing nothing in the dark." She wouldn't belittle her own worry about the current situation. Had he gotten into a fight with one of his friends? Was he being picked on at school by someone? Her first thought didn't seem to be right, as she remembered that his friends had all come over the previous day and stayed until it was dark outside, and that left her with just one option: was there a problem at school she had no idea about? It wasn't as if Sora came home with bruises or cuts that she didn't know about. Well, just one came to mind, and he had explained that it occurred during a gym class run in the woods. Not exactly an explanation that would arouse suspicion. "You know you can tell me about anything, right? If there was a problem at school, someone bothering you, but I won't know unless you tell me, because I'm not psychic. That is to say, that I do have mothers' intuition which isn't exactly the same thing, but I do _know_ somethings, even without you telling me." Hoping that would be enough to allow Sora to open up to her, she waited for a response from him.

Thinking it over for a little bit, Sora wasn't so sure that he _could_ tell her. "I do have something on my mind, a lot, actually. I'm not really sure if I can deal with it on my own, or if I need someone else to hear me out on it, because I have so many people around me, who all have their own opinions and don't really seem ready to hear what _I_ have to say." Before he knew it, Sora had unknowingly began to vent to his mother. Babbling little bits and pieces here and there, hoping that she would understand and somehow be able to help him, like she always did.

"That's not exactly a fair thing to say, Sora. You didn't ask me to listen, remember? I'll hear what you have to say, and if you don't want my judgement or input on things, then I honestly won't give it. I'll listen to what you have to say, because you're my son and I only want what's best for you, and I don't care what anyone else believes is best for you- only you know that. And you should know that I won't tell anyone else what you say, it's just between you and me. So go ahead, tell me." Sitting on the edge of his bed, his mother sat straight, folding her legs and neatly placing her hands in her lap, giving him her full attention.

"It started on the first day of school, actually." Sora began to speak, and his mother nodded, signifying she was listening. "I met a new boy, Roxas. Riku doesn't like him at all, and Kairi and Namine don't seem to mind too much that I'm hanging around him. They're cheering me on, actually." Smiling a bit at the mention of their support, he continued on, becoming a bit more 'cheerful' as he spoke. He didn't even notice how much he'd been gushing about details when Roxas had entered the story, and his shift in demeanor when mentioning the fact that Kairi/Namine were rooting for it.

"You really like this boy, don't you, Sora?" His mother had clued in to that fact above all else. Although she didn't want to say anything that may weird Sora out, it didn't seem to initially be a simple 'friend' dynamic. She'd never really heard Sora speak about anyone this way, before. That was probably another reason Riku didn't like him, because someone else was taking his friend away. Truth be told, she knew many parents would probably be so afraid to hear/even think the thoughts that she was cycling through, but above all else, she'd just be happy that her boy was happy.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not so sure that he likes me. Well. He didn't seem to dislike me as much as some people, but I think I really messed up."

"What happened?" Everything Sora said made it seem like they were becoming good friends, so she found herself quite surprised. Maybe she'd been wrong before in her thinking.

"Well...Riku was concerned that Roxas isn't 'nice' to me, and sometimes it honestly feels like he's just being mean...but that's just the way that he is, and now that I know that, I don't feel that way anymore. But Riku still hates him, and he said a few things that made me mad, so I...I kinda said somethings that I shouldn't have, and sat with Roxas. After school, I left with him and ended up staying over at his house. The next day, we ended up doing a bunch of fun things! We went to the arcade, saw a movie, then the amusement park and went on so many rides! The roller coaster was so much fun! And then...we got some cotton candy. We watched the fireworks, together...and...I looked over, and he was leaning toward me..." Sora's sentence fell short as the familiar heat from that night came surging back to his cheeks. All that served to remind him of had been the fact that one moment he watched a paopu fruit spread across the sky in a menagerie of yellow/green fireworks simultaneously exploding and in the very next, a person he had worked so hard and so long to call 'friend' was leaning closer to him in a manner that his misconstrued to be romantic. His heart had been pounding so hard, and Roxas was literally glowing in that moment, his eyes glittered with each new firework cascading and exploding across the sky...and Sora just instinctively closed his eyes.

"Did you kiss him!?" Sora's mother wanted to know every single detail, and tried to downplay her excitement on the matter.

"N-no!" Sora shook his head vigorously, avoiding eye contact with her once he stopped, he could feel a very quickly spreading burning sensation.

"Did you want him to?" Sora didn't seem to be mad about the situation he'd explained to her, more...disappointed.

Looking up at her, Sora actually wasn't sure. "If...if I didn't want it to happen, I wouldn't have closed my eyes, right? I could have shoved him away...yelled, screamed, did something to make him know I was against it...but why was I so...disappointed when all he did was pull a piece of cotton candy off my face? Why did I end up running away and ignoring him calling after me?" Holding eye contact with his mother, he wanted an honest answer from her on what these things meant. He had no idea. Why was everything so strange?

With his ramblings, she had her answer. She loved her son, and truly she did- but he could honestly be so dense some times. You bring that boy around here, alright? I want to meet him." Standing up, she made her way to the door.

"How come?" Sora asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Because I feel like I want to meet this person. He sounds...interesting." Giving him a simple reason, she was sure that he'd do as she asked. "Now get ready for school."

Despite wanting to say more, Sora sighed and nodded to his mother. Once she left, he felt a calmness about things. All of his overthinking had come to its end, and he was alright with facing the day, nothing was getting his way. Not even his anxiety would be enough to hold him down and neglect his social obligations/interfere with school. Draping his legs over the edge of his bed, Sora smiled to himself. His mother just knew how to make things better, no matter what situation came his way. Getting up, Sora grabbed his outfit for the day and marched toward the shower.

With each crashing sound, Roxas felt bits and pieces of reprieve. There was always something so therapeutic and perfectly soothing about beating his punching bag to a pulp. Maybe it was because all of his pent up anger could be changed into something constructive, or it could have been the fact that everything seemed to just melt away, and for these few moments in time, it was just him and a singular object where he got to vent these annoying feelings from within himself. An old master of his had actually said some fighters liked to 'communicate' through physical contact, so it wasn't that much of an 'out there' theory. Taking a short breath, Roxas could hear his erratic heartbeat pounding in his ear while he attempted to catch his breath. Rolling his shoulders, he did his best to relieve his tensing muscles. Running his fingers through his hair, he felt beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. Deciding to rehydrate, he grabbed his water bottle and toweled himself off, deciding to sit for a moment. Leaning his head back against the wall while Roxas allowed himself to relax on the bench, he almost instantly regretted taking a pause in his practices. Feelings were beginning to seep through the barricades that his mindless work of training had produced. One by one, these dams he'd been using to put his mind at ease were shattering and leaving him with an unfamiliar area of...not necessarily what once could construe as 'guilt' but there was something definitively hanging in the air. Was it something that could be solved by violence alone? There was only one way to tell, and that was to get back up, walk over to that punching bag, and wail on it like there was no tomorrow. Settling on that option, Roxas did just that. Even though his hands had already started to go numb, the blonde continued to wail on his punching bag with all his might. The tightened tape may have also been contributing to the lack of feeling, not that it really mattered at this point in time. In-between a multitude of kicks from his Taekwondo training and punches from his Ba Ji Quan, Roxas couldn't help but to wonder what would happen. Sora clearly had an overactive imagination, and there was no telling what kinds of tangents and oddities the brunette boy was convincing himself of while cooped up all alone by himself- he hadn't even bothered to reply to Roxas' homework text for him. At the very least, the blonde knew he'd read the message, because a time stamped 'seen' was there. If Sora was actually _trying_ to piss him off, then he was little by little succeeding in that endeavor.

With that bit of realization, Roxas was dumbfounded. _Sora pissed me off._ Not in the usual way of dealing with his almost child-like innocence, or naivete in almost any given situation, but after all of those speeches about how they were 'friends' and how Sora had no intentions of giving up on that fact- Sora quite literally ran away from him, and now a huge misunderstanding had come to pass. Obviously it hadn't been Roxas' fault, but he was still pissed off at Sora for the grievances he was likely going to have to deal with from now on- _Riku._ That obnoxious, loud, rude busybody who called himself 'best friend' was likely going to try and provoke Roxas yet again for a situation that while it may have something concerning someone he cares for, has factually nothing to do with him. Why the hell couldn't people just leave good enough alone? There was absolutely no logic to be found by attempting to baby someone and pick all of their battles for them. Some people hated being coddled, and Roxas had experienced first hand how, despite his outward appearance and usual demeanor toward things, he could be quite masculine/'manly' about things. Not that he ever really saw Sora outwardly saying he was fed up with how Roxas was about certain things, and how he could be 'nicer' to him on occasion, but if brought to the proper edge of 'annoyance' then anything was likely to be possible. Maybe he'd see this alleged version of Sora he'd conjured up in his head when he confronted him today. The 'talk' they'd have today would only be akin to him saying 'get over it'. Roxas generally had no filter and didn't sugar coat issues just to make others feel better about themselves, and while it may not have made him an individual most wanted around, some people actually did respect that sort of thing.

Deciding that this would be it for the day, Roxas would just have to find some other way to busy himself from troublesome thoughts. There was always the chance that he and Riku would end up in some sort of fist fight, he'd end up expelled from school, then all of this nonsense would just fade to nothing once he moved to an entirely new location. That'd be one way to silence all of this constant pestering from people who seemed to love invading his life, trying to find a person within him that honestly just was no longer there. The old him likely would have indulged that girl from a few days ago, who decided that because of the way that he looked, his athletic ability and intelligence, that they were destined to be. He wouldn't have dated her or any sort of nonsense like that, but he likely would have 'put her down gently' as most would say. More than likely starting out with a 'Thank you, for taking the time out of your day, and for confessing to me your precious feelings...but I can't return them. I'm sorry.' the thought honestly made him cringe. Being so much of a pushover that he honestly couldn't even give a definitive 'no', which made the recipient have that faint hint of hope that he'd 'see' what they saw in him- but if they actually knew what his sexual preference was, or cared enough in general to know a few things about him, then Roxas would never have such boring, tedious problems to try and handle. In the end, maybe the whole blackmail rumor about him being gay would work out in his favor. Boys would likely be 'afraid' to be alone with him, he'd never have to be bothered in the change room if he ever decided to have showers, girls wouldn't try to flirt with him, or confess feelings that weren't actually there in the first place, and above all else- he could be _alone_.

Alright, maybe the last fact wasn't exactly 'true' considering some people were likely to be homophobic, and those kinds of people tended to not be the most 'understanding' of individuals- why was it so hard to respectfully dislike something? It wasn't that hard to hate something and not throw your opinion all over the place with ignorant facts, thrown in with abrasive, boring personalities. Frowning at that thought, Roxas honestly had a _very_ short fuse, and he didn't want to deal with simple minded morons who thought that they could just hurl the words 'fag'/'faggot' his way without getting something broken. It wasn't the slur words sent his way that necessarily triggered him, it was more-so having to deal with the people behind their petty reasoning for discriminatory action. He'd also learned the hard way that some people liked to hide behind faux sexuality, as one such boy actually decided he had some sort of sick 'crush' on Roxas that somehow became the blonde's problem. He'd gotten a 'love tap' for his troubles. Being caught in such a controversial mess of nonsense hadn't been any interest of his, at all, and what did he think would happen, they'd 'date'(?), fool around(?), make-out(?) and do things that a normal gay couple would, while he picked on and joined the crowds of people who hated Roxas for just being the way that he was? _No_. It was so laughable that someone thought he was so weak and desperate that he'd be looking at an abuser for a source of 'love'.

Running his fingers through his hair, Roxas let out a sigh. The longer he seemed to deal with Sora, the more demons of his past kept rising to the surface to haunt or annoy him. Glancing at himself in the mirror, he wanted to ask why he bothered dealing with someone who only served to be a nuisance and make him do things that he didn't want to, think about situations that were long gone and he factually no longer cared about, but Roxas knew it would serve absolutely no purpose. Taking off the tape he had on his hands, he stared down at them. They were discolored from how tightly wrapped they'd been and the amount of exertion Roxas had put on them when attacking his punching bag. When was the last time he'd trained like this? Trying to recall, nothing came to mind. Of all things, his memory failed him exactly when he needed it. Whatever, it's not as if it really mattered right now anyway. Stepping into the shower, he quickly washed up and got dressed. Looking down, he frowned a bit. Maybe his hands would look more 'normal' by the time he got to school. One thing was for certain when he reached school: _Sora better be there._

Suppressing a shudder, Sora made his way downstairs. Hearing the gentle hum of his mother, Sora continued to towel off his hair and make his way downstairs. "You're just in time for breakfast, dear."

"I wish I could stay, but I have to go." Sora had sat at the table, but spoke up only when she slid the plate in front of him.

"Oh? You're leaving?" Finding herself a bit surprised, she wondered why Sora was going to show up to school early.

Sora nodded. "I...I have something I need to do."

"Okay. Just remember that I want you to bring your friend by, alright?" She really didn't want her son to end up forgetting that fact.

"I won't." Sora promised her, grabbing a piece of toast for breakfast, he stood and kissed her on the cheek before running out the front door. Even though it was still early, he wanted to make it. Sprinting at a speed that no one else (save for Roxas) had been able to match, he made his way to school. Scarfing down the last of his breakfast, he found himself at the gates of high school. It felt so strange for him to actually be early for a change, and though he'd never make a habit out of it, today had been a special day. Walking up to his starting class, Sora was astounded to find the room completely empty. Had he actually come so early that he'd defeated not only Riku, but Roxas as well? _Damn_. Sora had really been expecting someone to actually be here by the time he made it, some people may have appreciated being alone and the fact that they were 'first'- but Sora wasn't one of those people. He wanted to see people, interact with them, and enjoy each passing moment that came along with conversation. But this, was _boring_. Taking his seat, Sora removed the few items he'd need for the start of the day, and he promptly waited for someone, _anyone_ to come and give him some company.

After what felt like an eternity, Roxas walked through the doorway and for a moment, their eyes locked. For a change of pace, Sora was the one to look away. "Sora." Calling out his name, the brunette appeared to either hear and refuse to respond to the semi-greeting Roxas had thrown his way, or somehow managing to not have heard what was said. In either case, Roxas figured it was himself being ignored. Narrowing his eyes, the blonde strode over to his desk with minimal effort, and more of a show of his speed, he dropped his bag on his chair, choosing to stand instead of sit. Folding his arms, he continued to stare, considering the low note they'd left off on since their last meeting, and Sora had proven himself to be a runner, Roxas decided to flat out intimidate him into talking. "I know you heard me."

"Oh. Did you...say something?" Sora asked, doing his best to keep things together. Roxas could actually be pretty scary, when he wanted to be. At this point in time, he didn't even try to steal a glance. Roxas' scrutinizing glare had all that was needed to be seen between either male, anyway. Shrinking into his seat when he heard Roxas step, he wasn't sure what was happening, and hoped that he hadn't made him angry in some way.

"I'm surprised you can hear me, over all of that running." Roxas wasn't in the mood for him to pull one of the stunts that Sora liked to. They clearly had something that needed to be addressed between the two of them, and that fact stemmed from the possibility that A: Sora could be either gay, or bisexual. B: He had a singular, same-sex attraction to Roxas. C: The event that transpired between the two of them had just been none other than a complete and under misunderstanding on both sides which could be rectified easily. Whichever choice it may have been, or if it was something else entirely, Roxas didn't really care enough to speculate, as he wanted to hear it from the horse's mouth above all else.

"I...I'm..." Sora fidgeted with his fingers, taking in a deep breath, he looked up at Roxas. After the talk he'd had with his mother, Sora hadn't expected the fact that he'd feel so scared and anxious about his current situation. In fact, he'd felt so empowered with confidence that he came charging over to school. Feeling his cheeks get a bit hot as his embarrassment, Sora did his best to speak up. "I'mreallysorrythatIranoffwhileyouwerecallingaftermebutIwasreallyembarrassedanddidn'tknowwhattodoandmyfirstinstinctwastorun." Having shut his eyes through the large amalgamation of babble that somehow turned into a very large word rather than a comprehensible sentence, Sora slowly opened his eyes one by one and stared up at Roxas' slightly confused face.

Running his fingers through his hair, Roxas let out a heavy sigh. Sora honestly knew how to make things ever so difficult while acting in a manner that wouldn't annoy many people, but it did semi piss off Roxas. Maybe his anger had reached its apex and turned into humor, because Roxas let out a very long laugh at the display before him. Nothing about the situation was even remotely funny, yet he was laughing. Who could possibly ramble on for so long that their words all became a long bout of gibberish instead? "Idiot. Sometimes, you're just...too much, Sora." Trying to calm himself down a bit, Roxas knew that this would be the first but not the last time Sora uttered something along these lines.

"Too much...?" Sora asked, unsure why Roxas had been laughing. He seemed kind of mad or at the very least fed up when he started talking. Maybe it was a sign that he wasn't angry anymore. Sora honestly hoped that this was the case, so he didn't have to speak up to scary Roxas. He was nervous enough already without trying to figure out what kind of mood his friend was in.

"You just...you...you piss me off, you know that, right?" Roxas asked, stepping in front of Sora and leaning forward on his desk. There was absolutely no way he hadn't picked up on the fact that Roxas was short with him nearly all the time. Even if he seemed that way with just about everyone, Sora was the only person who decided to stick around for the abuse.

"P-p-piss you off...?" Sora asked, blinking in surprise. He wasn't scared of the fact that Roxas said he was annoying, but rather surprised to be told he made him angry. Roxas could obviously be a 'cold' person, but there was no helping him being the way that he was, but for him to outright say that Sora 'pissed him off', he wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"Yes, and without fail, mind you- running off before I can say anything, demanding we go out and have what you consider to be 'fun', barging into my life without so much as a care in the world, always smiling and laughing, saying with so much stubbornness and insistence that we can be friends while stating that you're 'different'. So I gave you a chance to not be like everyone else. I bet on the possibility that someone like you wouldn't betray my trust, that I could put stock in new people, but low and behold...you just cut and run." Roxas hadn't meant to vent a few of his inner feelings, but he honestly had reached his limit. Although he was too 'proud' to say very much more aloud to Sora, Roxas still had plenty of things he _wanted_ to say, but held his tongue. Due to the fact that Roxas didn't hold back and tended to say 'harsh' things to the recipient of his words, he was sure Sora would probably start crying or something silly like that, and he didn't want to deal with his obnoxious ass of a friend Riku. If only Ven wasn't so busy dealing with college things and unavailable for him to vent, Roxas still had bits and pieces of pent up rage that seemed to only surface once he saw Sora in this classroom acting as if he should be afraid. Did he believe Roxas to be nothing but a deviant who wanted a boy like him as some sort of 'novelty'? Or, better yet, did Sora believe he came to school solely to seek him out and beat him up?

Sora's head hung low for a moment or two until he finally found the will to look up. Roxas made it very clear that he wasn't going to let him get away this time - not that he had any intentions of running off - but he felt bouts of anxiety while listening to everything his blonde friend had to say. "I don't mean to annoy you, at all- I just...ever since I saw you, I thought...we could be friends. Actually, I _hoped_ we could be friends. I'm not like other people, I just...I had...some things to figure out, and I...had to be alone for a little while. I'm sorry if you felt like I was being mean and trying to drop you because of what happened...but I...I didn't know what to do. Why are you so...confusing?" Feeling tears sting his eyes, Sora hated the fact that he was crying. Roxas hadn't been yelling at him or doing anything in the moment that was seriously threatening. He'd just said how he felt.

Staring down at Sora for quite some time, Roxas was surprised at what he was seeing and just heard. The brunette's eyes were clouding over with tears that fought to fall, but it seemed like he was doing his hardest to keep them inside. Sora, in earnest had basically given him a confession of sorts and probably hadn't even realized it himself. "You...Sora, do you like me?" Considering the fact that he was still faltering with his own dilemma of crying, Sora just nodded as an answer. "As a friend?" Another nod. "More than a friend?" This time there was a bit of hesitation, and a half-nod gesture. Just as he'd thought: Sora definitely had feelings and thoughts to sort out. "Let me put it like this, Sora, you wanted me to kiss you that night, didn't you?"

"I.." Not being able to say the words out loud, because it was embarrassing, he nodded. "You must think I'm weird, or gross."

"You do know who you're talking to, right?" Roxas asked, trying to make light of things. Temporarily moving away from Sora, he grabbed a tissue and presented it to Sora on his return. "Clean up your face." Of all things, he wasn't going to let some brat who cried just at the mere thought of something bad happening - who also confessed to 'liking' him - monopolize his time.

"But-" Sora tried to argue, and Roxas made it clear he wasn't going to do so. Doing as instructed, he wanted to say something, but wasn't sure if he was allowed to. Looking up, he saw Roxas leaning a bit closer to him. Stiffening a bit, Sora didn't move at all. He didn't want this to turn into another situation between the two of them that they'd have to talk about due to his own stupidity and assumptions about things that couldn't possibly be true, especially concerning himself and Roxas. Roxas stopped once he reached Sora's ear, and he felt the warmth/tickle of his breath. Suppressing the urge to shudder or laugh, Sora instead focused on what it was Roxas had to say.

"I'll say this only once, so be sure to pay attention." Roxas paused for a moment or two, only once he received a nod from the brunette did he continue on with what he had to say. "Just because I'm gay, doesn't mean I like every single male I come across, and my mantra isn't 'any guy will do'. My actions always have meaning, even if you don't understand, you'll just have to catch up." Sora was obviously quite fairly dense, and Roxas wasn't sure if he'd be able to endure through someone like him, but like he said before- he'd bet on the possibility. Moving from Sora's ear, he saw him shudder a bit, but for the most part, try to keep his statue-like composure. All the better Roxas supposed, as Sora didn't need to move an inch for what he was about to do. Roxas placed his right hand on Sora's left cheek, ignoring the confusion on his face, he leaned closer until their lips finally met. Just like the usual him, Roxas found that Sora had an unusual, sweet taste. Almost like...strawberry starburst. Did he seriously eat candy for breakfast? Roxas wouldn't have put it past Sora to do something along those lines. Pulling back from the kiss, he didn't realize that he'd been frowning in thought.

Just like with the fireworks, Sora had shut his eyes, only this time to be rewarded with a kiss. The alien sensation was the complete opposite of how Roxas had explained his very first kiss to have occurred. Was it just a different experience altogether between boys and girls? Maybe Roxas' words should have prepped him for such a situation, but Sora was pleasantly surprised- and he wasn't sure if that was necessarily a good or a bad thing. Boys technically _weren't_ supposed to enjoy kissing other boys, and unlike Roxas, Sora had absolutely no base understanding that he himself had been gay. Was it possible to not be gay and still do these kinds of things? He honestly had no idea, and there was absolutely no way he could ever ask or tell anybody about what was happening in the now. Sora tried to focus, but it was increasingly difficult due to what Roxas was doing and it made his head feel fuzzy. Everything that Roxas had done in the past few moments had sent little bits of electricity down his spine. The gentle way that his hand had grasped Sora's cheek, the unfamiliar sensation of having someone else's lips on his own, coupled with the heat of his blush. Opening his eyes, he saw the frown on Roxas' face and wondered if he did anything wrong.

Roxas didn't say anything, hoping to not ruin the moment. Honestly this was his second kiss, but his first with another male, and it felt completely polar opposite to the first. He hadn't at all been interested in the girl, she came out of nowhere and ambushed him. But this was different. It was with a boy that Roxas factually knew liked him, and though he wasn't certain he could say that Sora held his heart in his hands or anything leaning toward 'love', but he did have an attraction to the brunette boy. Staring down at Sora for what felt like the longest time, he wasn't sure on what to say. He hadn't planned for something like this to happen, and now that it had, well, at least Sora's anxiety when dealing with him seemed to be gone. Or, and maybe this was just him stroking his own ego, but that kiss forced him to sit still- then it dawned on him: he'd told Sora to be still. "You _can_ speak, you know?"

Swallowing, Sora nodded to Roxas. Opening his mouth, he honestly wanted to say something, anything to make the moment seem a bit less awkward, but he had no idea on what to say. Averting his eyes and looking at anything other than Roxas' face, Sora wasn't sure if there'd be anything he could say. His face felt like it was on fire, and his heart was going a mile a minute. Why did Roxas kiss him? Did Roxas _like_ him? Why hadn't Sora pushed him away like he could have at the amusement park? Frantically darting his eyes around the room for any form of welcomed distraction, he eventually stumbled upon his hurt hands. "Roxas!" Sora cried out his name, not much caring to keep his volume in check for the environment they were in. Grabbing the blonde males hands, he was surprised when Roxas winced at the gesture. Looking down at his hands, his mouth gaped open. "Did you get into a fight? Are you okay? We should take you to see the nurse!" Standing up from his desk, Sora was more than prepared to march his off to the nurses office, regardless of if Roxas protested or not.

"Sora, it's nothing, I'm fine-" Roxas did his best to argue with Sora, but it didn't seem to phase the brunette at all. Freaking out just because of something so small and factually had nothing to do with him. Glancing down at his own injuries, Roxas could see that he'd overdone things in his morning routine. But that had only been because of what happened over the weekend and his annoyance over Sora/all the possibilities of what could happen today. If Sora had opted to run away from him again instead of talking things through, then he honestly would have lost it and chewed him out.

"We're going to the nurse." Sora gently began to lead Roxas off. Glancing back, he saw Roxas wince ever so slightly but not dare to make a sound he'd been hurt. "S-sorry!" Embarrassed he'd done some more damage as opposed to help out, Sora released his grip on Roxas' hands and opted to grab his forearm instead. Maybe the nurse wouldn't be able to do much aside from give him an ice pack or something along those lines, but at least it would help with the pain.

"I seem to have suffered more harm, somehow." Roxas commented, seeing a light, pink tint on Sora's cheeks. He certainly did blush a lot. To be absolutely honest, Roxas had no idea on whether or not Sora was gay or not. Just because he seemed to have a moderate amount of inclinations didn't mean anything. Most everyone had these underlying feelings/thoughts, they just usually stomped them so far down in their psyche that they were almost non-existent. The power of denial was a very powerful thing. Sora could very well just be bisexual and have a greater attraction to males. Or he could be any of the other thousands of labels people perpetuated in this day and age, it all depended solely on the fact of whether or not he enjoyed or disliked certain things. Glancing over, he saw Sora fidgeting with his hands and trying to say something but being too flustered to do so. Maybe he'd been a bit too 'edgy'. Would Ventus scold him for being a moron? Probably not. Roxas could see Ventus asking for every little detail on Sora, from appearance to how/why something like this had occurred, and he'd probably rush right on over to see them and meddle with things.

"I'm really sorry! Really, really, reaaaally sorry." Sora did his best to apologize, hoping that Roxas wasn't mad at him. How could he be so careless that he hurt an already injured person? Maybe he was being overly clumsy because he still felt so nervous. Roxas acted as if nothing at all had happened, and Sora seemed to be the only one affected by that kiss. Despite what Roxas said about things always 'holding meaning', he seemed to be acting just like he always did.

"I believe you." Roxas honestly couldn't believe Sora to be the kind of person to purposefully hurt someone- it just didn't seem like him at all. Walking out of the classroom, both boys bumped into Riku.

"Ouch..." Sora rubbed his head. "What did I...oh! Sorry!" Although he'd apologized to Riku, Sora couldn't help but to notice that his friend hadn't been looking in his direction, at all. Riku's gaze - if he wasn't mistaken - was trained almost entirely on Roxas himself. There was definitely a staring cont

"Sora, what are you doing? I thought you didn't want to be alone with this one." Riku asked, though his gaze still didn't lock away from Roxas. Scowling down at the shorter blonde, he had to wonder why Sora had been dragging him out of the classroom. Had he done another despicable thing to his friend? If that was the case, then he was going to be in for a world of hurt.

"Oh, well...we're going to the nurse's office." Sora now felt Roxas' gaze on him, boring a hole in the back of his head, and he hoped that he hadn't made him angry. He also couldn't believe that Riku had just outwardly stated something so mean, that was meant to be a private thing between he and his friends. Feeling his face heat up, he could feel some of that anxiety come back. Was Roxas going to hit him now? Would he be angry, and think Sora to be nothing but an underhanded person and decide that they couldn't see each other anymore?

"You're acting strangely." Riku finally looked at Sora. His hand was wrapped around Roxas' arm, face was almost red and he seemed completely anxious being near Roxas. Was the little runt doing something to make him uncomfortable? "What has he done to you? Is he giving you trouble, Sora?"

"N-nothing! He hasn't done anything, really! I swear! N-no trouble at all, what makes you say something like that!?" Frantically waving his hands in front of himself, Sora did his best to try and hide the blush that he felt on his face. How could Sora tell Riku that Roxas had kissed him? Was he really being _that_ obvious? There was absolutely no possible way that he could just come right out and say such a thing to his best friend. Averting his eyes, Sora had to try his best in convincing Riku. Knowing himself to absolutely be a terrible liar, due to the fact that he babbled and vehemently denied whatever he was being accused of, Sora just hoped that Riku wouldn't catch on.

Roxas didn't much care for the behemoth, nor the fact that he was being accused of a multitude of things. Locking eyes with the silver haired male, Roxas clenched his jaw. Part of him wanted to heichu punch him, maybe even use a bit of his flamingo stance and show off feats that he probably wouldn't even be able to fathom. Letting him know just how out of his league he truly was when it came to physical prowess. Despite how easy he knew such a thing would be, he held back those urges. Logically, he wasn't remotely prepared for a confrontation at the moment- of all the days for him to go all out and wail on his punching bag to the point that his hands would turn out useless. Frowning, he pulled his arm from Sora's grasp. Roxas brushed past the brunette/silver haired males and strode to the nurses office. He didn't care much for the prattle and the more he thought about it, the less he factually cared to deal with Sora's annoying friend. Knocking on the door, he waited for any sign that the nurse was there.

"Come in."

Doing as he was told, the blonde stepped inside of the office. The woman turned around in her chair to face Roxas, smiling and giving him her undivided attention. Doing a double take, he hoped he didn't come off as rude or anything along those lines, but the nurse was younger than he'd expected. Glancing at her name tag, he spotted the name ' _Aerith_ ' written intricately across the small rectangular pin. After a few moments of silence, she decided to take the initiative. "Was there something that you needed?"

"Yeah, I uh...well..." trailing off, Roxas decided to produce his hands for her to inspect.

"That's quite the number you did on those." Pursing her lips a bit and frowning at the wound, the brunette woman looked up at Roxas. "I'm asking this only because it's protocol- have you been fighting other students?"

"No." Roxas shook his head. By his guess, she actually seemed to be relieved by that fact.

"Well, that's good." Aerith smiled. "Mind telling me _how_ the bruising occurred?" She gently grabbed his hands one by one and checked what kind of injury they were dealing with. It didn't appear to be anything he'd need to bother with an ER over, but maybe an ice pack or some heat would do it some good. In either case, there was quite the amount of bruises. If he wasn't fighting other students, then what did he do? Hopefully it wasn't some new, stupid trend amongst the teens at the school. Remembering the last time the students decided to do 'tricks' on their skateboards/bikes, Aerith almost shuddered at the amount of people she had to inspect and take care of.

"I overdid my training this morning. I take martial arts, or, atleast I did until I moved here." Roxas semi-explained shrugging his shoulders. "It's honestly the first time that something like this has happened to me, I probably just wrapped my hands the wrong way." For someone as seasoned as he, it was nothing short of an absolute embarrassment to have injured himself in such a rookie way.

"What kind of 'training' could cause such an injury?" Aerith was very curious on just what he'd been doing. And then it dawned on her: she hadn't even asked his name. He didn't look like a familiar face, so she assumed him to be a new student.

"A bit of Ba Ji Quan and Taekwondo." Roxas didn't really know how to explain it. It'd honestly be so much easier if he could demonstrate the movements, but his hands felt like they couldn't take the strain.

"I take it those use quite the bit of force." Aerith mused. "I don't think that we've met before, mind telling me your name?"

"Roxas. We haven't met, actually. I'm new to the school and haven't visited here before."

"Aren't you going to chase after him?" Riku used a stern tone and folded his arms while staring down Sora. He was actually surprised that he hadn't gone bolting after Roxas like a lost puppy after the blonde had left both of them behind.

"I...I uh..." Sora anxiously played with his hands. "I do that a lot, don't I?" Scratching the back of his head, he smiled apologetically at Riku, hoping that he hadn't angered him.

"Do you really have to ask, Sora? We're all _lucky_ if we even see you for a few moments without that brat with you." Although he hadn't exactly planned to chew out his friend, that seemed to be the way that things were going. Maybe Roxas had gotten to him a little bit- how could he and Sora have some sort of falling out and then be fine without any grievances in-between.

Wincing at the criticisms, Sora put on a brave face. Obviously his friends must have missed him and hated the fact that he'd been otherwise busy with a new person all this time. Who wouldn't hate being left behind while watching someone you care about drift away? Biting his lip, he looked toward the ground then up at Riku. "I'm sorry."

Riku let out a long sigh. "Just..." How was he going to put this in a way that Sora could understand and it wouldn't upset him? He'd have to be the bigger person for Sora, wouldn't he? Stepping forward, he saw Sora instinctively shut his eyes in preparation of what was to come- did he think Riku was going to hit him, or something? Patting him on the head, he smiled a bit. "Go." There was no point in making him feel bad. Standing aside, Riku would just have to speak to him a bit later and try to make plans for them to do something.

"Didn't you have something to say?" Sora asked, his head tilting to the side, a confused look plastered across his face. It seemed like there was a lot more, but Riku had stopped himself for some reason.

"Don't worry about it, Sora." Riku shook his head. "It's not important."

Glancing up at his friend, he was confused. Riku never had anything to say that wasn't important and Sora really wanted to hear him out. "What is it?" Pressing him on the issue, Sora knew that he'd be a bad friend if he just walked away from the situation knowing that something was wrong.

Riku was ready to let him off the hook, so why did Sora bother to push him on the issue? Although this wasn't the topic he was going to bring up, something had been bugging Riku. "Why was your face so red? What did he do that made you so anxious?" Was that blonde brat bullying Sora to the point that his friend was about to cry? If so, then he was in for a world of hurt when Riku got his hands on him.

"O-oh...was it red?" Sora asked, scratching the back of his head, hoping his face wouldn't flush again. "He didn't do anything- really! I promise!"

Sora was obviously lying to him. He'd always been such a terrible liar. "It's something you can't tell me?" Riku's face conveyed the feeling of sadness that he felt. What did Sora feel like he needed to hide from him? Was it seriously that bad, whatever had happened between he and Roxas?

"I'm really, _realllllllly_ sorry. Riku. But I can't." Sora shook his head. Honestly, his heart sank seeing Riku look like this, but he didn't know what to say or do. Roxas was about the only person he could talk to it about, and he felt terrible having to exclude Riku from such a large secret- but he had to. There was still no comfort to be found in logic.

"Can you tell me if it's something bad?" Riku genuinely believed Sora, but he wanted to put his own worries to rest. Maybe this didn't have to do with that blonde brat, after all.

"It's nothing bad at all!" Sora did his best to smile, though he felt uneasy. Whether or not it was 'bad' depended solely on your opinion of things- would his best friend end up hating him for the fact that a boy had kissed him and Sora had enjoyed it? Would he be disgusted with him?

"Well, that's good. That's all I need to know." Pressuring Sora into telling him wouldn't help anything, especially when his friend already looked so trouble by something. If this problem wasn't big enough for him to open up about, then maybe it was just Sora over worrying about something that would turn out to be small by the end of things. Riku decided it was best to leave him be, and walked in the classroom.

After a moments hesitance, Sora walked over to the nurses office and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Hearing her cheerful voice was like a soothing balm for Sora. Doing as he was told, Sora opened the door and walked into the room. Greeted by Aerith's smile, he instinctively smiled back.

"Sora! Are you hurt as well?" Aerith was glad to see a familiar face, but she hoped that he didn't need her care, too. It wasn't that she'd feel overwhelmed by having two students at the same time, but she hated seeing good kids get hurt.

"Oh, no! I'm fine!" Sora waved away her doubts that he could be injured. "I just came to see a friend, actually- have you seen him?" Looking around the room, Sora honestly didn't see Roxas anywhere.

"Blonde, spiky hair, blue eyes?" Aerith asked, on Sora's nod to all of the above, she nodded back. "Right over there. Actually, if you wouldn't mind- I need to step out for a few minutes. Would you be able to stay with him?"

"Sure! No problem!" What a perfect coincidence- the two of them could talk, alone and have no one within ears reach.

"Thank you." Aerith smiled, walking past Sora and out the door.

Taking in a deep breath, Sora walked over to the curtain she said Roxas was behind. Standing idly for a few seconds, he reached out to grab and pull it over, but fell just short of doing so. His hand was shaking a bit, and he could hear his heart beating so loudly in his ear.

"Are you just going to stand there all day?"

On hearing Roxas' voice, Sora jumped. Laughing nervously, he pulled the curtain aside and stepped in. Turning around for a moment, he instantly shut it behind him and faced the blonde male once more. "H-how did you know I was standing there?" Sora asked curiously.

"I saw your shoes." Roxas stated what he believed to be the obvious. Sora was very conspicuous for someone who had been trying to hide.

"Oh." Sora laughed a bit, scratching the back of his head.

"Is there something that you wanted, Sora?" Maybe he'd just been worried about when Roxas would end up out of the nurses office. By her estimate it actually wouldn't be all that long. She'd given him ice packs and something for the swelling, so realistically he wouldn't be hanging around that much longer.

"Y-yeah, there is...Roxas, why...did you kiss me?" Sora factually wanted to know. He had no idea why Roxas had done such a thing and he was honestly just trying to work things out.

"You said you wanted it, remember?" Roxas asked, countering a question with a question. He was honestly grateful Sora had no idea that about 90% of the time he evaded having to answer because Sora let him do so.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, I did. But you...why would you do that? You probably don't even like me in that way."

Roxas instantly narrowed his eyes at Sora's statement. The brunette instantly regretted what he said. "You didn't hear a word that I said in the classroom, did you? I know this, because if you _had_ been listening, you would have heard me state clear as day that I don't do things without meaning. Sora, I have _no_ idea if I like you or not. You're a thorn in my side who bugs the hell out of me, you have such weird mannerisms that I honestly don't know how to deal with most of the time, _and_ you're overly sensitive." Even after he finished his criticisms, Roxas saw Sora flinch a bit and look like he was about ready to bolt.

"Do you...hate me?" Sora asked, hoping that wasn't the case.

Roxas let out a heavy sigh and groaned. "Hate _you_? No. Hate the _things_ that you say and do? Yes."

Sora couldn't help cringing. "I'm sorry!" The apology slipped out before he even noticed it- would Roxas be even angrier at that?

"You don't have to be sorry, Sora. If anything, it's probably partly my fault- I've gone so long without dealing with people that I'm inept at doing any of this. It's probably also because I've never met someone like you who isn't my brother." Sora definitely was a Ventus-type. So why was this one such a pain in the ass/annoyance/hindrance when Ven was relatively a breeze and enjoyable to be around? Sora honestly frustrated him to no end, andvc Roxas was confused on why he didn't just cut him loose and move on. Would it really be that hard to just ignore Sora and go about his day-to-day life? Probably not. But Sora was persistent and would keep sending him those puppy looks until he caved.

Sitting in silence for a moment or two, Sora wanted to ask a few things and he felt like he should say them outright. "Roxas." Catching the blondes attention by calling his name, Sora cleared his throat for what he was about to say. "Are we...and feel free to laugh or be mean if I'm wrong- but are we dating?" He had no idea on whether or not this was the case. Friends don't just kiss friends. It wasn't the way that things worked. He never had Kairi, Namine or Riku trying to do such things.

Roxas did a combination of a laugh/scoff. "No. Getting pretty bold and ahead of ourselves, aren't we?" If need be, he could just chalk it up to a lapse of his own judgment and tell Sora it had been a mistake- even if that weren't the case. Not that he'd ever admit it aloud- this kiss had been different. Polar opposite to that stupid girl who decided he was some love object to be conquered. Was it because this one had been of his own doing(?), with a male(?), or was he just being some sort of deviant who enjoyed the idea of being with someone who annoyed him? Roxas had no idea, but one little kiss wasn't enough for him to declare that he and Sora were an item.

"Oh. Okay." Sora felt a bit relieved and disappointed. "Oh!" Finally catching on that he'd been forgetting something, Sora decided to do what his mother told him to. "My mom wants you to come by the house, you wouldn't mind doing that, would you?"

Sora's innocent, almost begging look was all it took for Roxas to concede. "When?"

"I think today." Sora wasn't sure. She had said she wanted him to come by and left it at that.

"Fine." Roxas didn't even bother to argue. Hearing the bell for class ring, he decided that their time was up. "You should get to class, Sora, you don't want to be la-" Cut off mid sentence, Roxas was stunned to find himself being kissed by Sora.

"I'm off to class! See ya!" Sora smiled and waved goodbye, running out of the room.

 _What. The. Hell._ Did Sora now think it was just open season on the two of them kissing? "Ven...I think I screwed up." Placing the fold between his elbow over his eyes, Roxas didn't know what to do. In either case, he barely even noticed the hint of a smile on his face.


	8. Side Story Chapter 2: Apples

The introduction of Ventus! Sorta. ((He is going to come into the main story at some point.)) I'm not sure when. He may even turn up in the next ((Main)) story chapter.

-Elegant

* * *

 **Side Story Chapter 2: Apples  
**

"Don't touch it! It's slimy and gross!" Roxas really hoped Ventus wasn't serious about touching the worm that was on the ground in front of them. It was long, fat, a pink-ish brown in color and it wouldn't stop crawling in all kinds of directions. Despite his own disposition on slime and slimy creatures, Ventus was polar opposite of him in that matter- he didn't care if it was worms, snails, slugs or whatever kind of animal it may be, he still ended up touching them.

"Oh come on, Roxas, he's not that bad!" Ventus knelt down by the worm and picked it up with little to no regard for how it slithered in his hands nor the slimy outside that its skin had. Seeing the fear on Roxas' face, he didn't bother to bring it closer to his younger cousin, but he did enjoy staring at the creature in his hands. Roxas was usually afraid of smaller creatures, so he avoided picking up things like baby crabs, spiders, anything that he deemed to be 'gross' or 'dangerous'- and the only time he got to keenly observe them was when Ven picked such a creature up. The shorter blondes eyes were trained entirely on the worm, and he took an instinctive step back.

"How aren't you dropping that? It's so...sticky and gross!" Describing the worm just as it had looked to him, Roxas was repulsed by the sight of it and the actions the creature performed whilst in his cousins hands.

"I don't think he's gross." Ventus commented, carefully 'juggling' the worm within his hands in order to stop it from falling. Though it technically did 'fall' from his left to his right and vice-versa on his little game of playing with it. However, despite his best efforts, it eventually slipped due to its slimy skin and eventually fell back onto the ground. Despite his best efforts to keep it within the palms of his hands, the worm had actually managed to slip between the 'seal' they had made while pressed together.

"Gross!" Roxas hopped back and away from the creature. Just seeing the things that it did in Ventus' hands had him reflexively patting his hands dry despite never even touching the worm.

Ventus laughed at the display his younger cousin was putting on over something so simple as a worm. Though he didn't think they were necessarily 'cute' or pet material- Ventus didn't have much of an aversion to them like Roxas. Watching it slither into the taller parts of the grass, Ventus waved goodbye. "Bye worm!" Maybe he'd come across something else for him to pick up later on. Now they'd have to find something else to do, and he wasn't exactly sure what Roxas would be up for.

"Good riddance." Roxas chimed in after him. He hated the sight of the worm, and he was so glad that it decided to leave the two boys alone.

"So, Roxas, do you wanna play soccer?" It would be a good pass-time for the two of them, and at least this way they could have some one on one fun. He could see a few problems arising from the two of them playing together, such as Roxas getting mad at him for scoring goals, not being fast enough to catch up, - though Ventus never dared to go full speed as he found it too cheap to do so - mad for letting him score any goals. His little cousin was a very complex person who liked to win, but it had to be on his own terms and _fair_. That was one of the hurdles they were more than likely going to overcome once the two of them were older.

"Sure!" Roxas was all for playing soccer with Ventus. He loved playing games with his older cousin, but he honestly hated losing, so much. Often times Ventus thought he was being 'nice' by letting Roxas get ahead, catch up, or even win the game without earning that win- Roxas absolutely couldn't stand those kinds of outcomes. If he was going to win, then _he_ was going to win fair and square. There was no point in winning if you didn't actually win.

"I'll race you!" Ventus put in minimal effort at running over to the ball in the middle of the backyard. He wanted Roxas to feel like he had a chance, and he didn't want to start problems between the two of them so early on.

"You can go faster, Ven! You don't have to go slow just for me!" Roxas whined. He hated being babied by his older cousin. Plus, he didn't really mind who got to the ball first. All that really mattered was when the two of them started their game.

"Okay if you're sure." Ventus put in a little bit more effort and stood by the ball once he made it to the object. A few moments later, Roxas made it and was ready to play. Deciding it best to start off by playing 'pass' - as there would never truly end up being a winner in this 'friendly' game there would also be no loser - this way Roxas wouldn't end up getting mad.

"Look at the two of them playing! They're so cute!" Ventus' mother couldn't help but to comment on their boys playing together to Roxas' mother. It was just always such a sweet display whenever the two of them were together. Ventus was always such a doting, pushover of an older cousin to Roxas and it was just about the cutest thing in the world to see that despite the age difference, (which neither seemed to mind) they got along fairly well, with almost no grievances between either boy. And if such a thing did come about, then Ven was usually quick to resolve the issue before an adult ever needed to be involved. Honestly, she didn't know how they'd gotten so lucky with their boys.

"They sure enjoy each others company." Roxas' mother couldn't help but to agree, especially after seeing her son play with his older cousin. Even if her little boy loved to be an impossible brat from time to time with his pushover of an older cousin who would do nothing but try to appease him should he ever be angry or throw fits that evolved into tantrums. She had half a mind to step in whenever such a thing came to be, but Ventus just seemed to always know how to make Roxas feel better. They seemed almost like brothers who were separated at birth.

Ventus' mother nodded. "I'm glad that they can be such good friends." Most people believed that just because you were 'family', you had to 'endure' through the company of those individuals, that there was no choice in the matter of whether or not you could love them, because, simply put- you're family. Just because you had blood ties with an individual, didn't mean you would always have to love them, nor like them. Roxas and Ventus were a prime example that it absolutely was a choice, even if they were both still so young, they still enjoyed each others company. No matter if they fought or Roxas threw constant temper tantrums, his big cousin would always be there for him. They didn't even really seem like cousins, at all- they were more like best friends, maybe even brothers.

Roxas' mother couldn't have agreed more with that statement. Just because her boy was always so short with Ventus, didn't mean they weren't the best of friends. She couldn't wait to see what would happen, when the two of them were older and if this bond was a lasting one. Knowing all too well what it was like to be that young, and just how easy it was to be so short with someone older than you, she could put herself in Roxas' shoes, and felt sympathy for Ventus having to endure through so much. Being older now, she could see it from both points of view, and appreciated all of the times she'd spent with her big sister, and couldn't help but to steal a glance at her every now and again, taking her attention off the boys.

"Come on, Roxas! You can do better than that!" Ventus encouraged his cousin to take the soccer ball from him. Smiling while he gently teased his younger cousin, Ventus hoped that Roxas would actually be able to steal the ball from him. Honestly, he'd just allow Roxas to steal it from him, but the younger blonde somehow always just knew when his older cousin had let him win and got angry/scolded him for such a thing. There was no happy medium in pleasing Roxas, but if anyone could manage to do it, it'd be Ven. Despite how Roxas may have felt when they played their games together, Ventus always felt happy to be able to spend time with him, no matter what. Lightly passing the ball between his feet, he slowed himself down just a bit, so that Roxas could have more of a fighting chance.

"I can't! You're too big!" Roxas frowned, pouting as he stared up at Ventus. Even his very best only paled in comparison of his older cousin, no matter what he did, all he could do was trail behind Ventus and lose goal after goal. He was all for trying new things, and doing all that he could in any given situation, but he honestly didn't think he could best Ventus in this game. His cousin was bigger than him for starters, and he had more stamina. How was he supposed to compete with someone like that?

"No way! You can do it! I believe in you!" Ventus held his smile, doing his best to make Roxas believe he actually had a fighting chance. While it was true Ventus hadn't been going all out in their game, he just wanted Roxas to have fun. What was the point in 'winning' if it was a cheap victory? Of course he had a handicap in their game, he was older by four years, and that made all the difference. Even though he was going easy, it seemed Roxas actually had a hard time keeping up with him.

"You're just saying that!" Roxas frowned, crossing his arms while staring up at the older boy. None of his encouragements were welcomed at the moment, in fact, all they seemed to be doing was stoke the fires of annoyance/anger Roxas appeared to be feeling towards Ventus. He wasn't going to move another inch toward Ventus, nor the ball. Each time he tried while Ventus stood still, his cousin would feign being stagnant then run off with the ball.

"I'm not!" Ventus shook his head, what would it take for Roxas to believe him? He felt bad seeing Roxas like this, but it just wasn't fair on how difficult he was being. The age difference had a few 'setbacks' that would be rectified once both of them were older, surely, as his mother and Roxas' mother had just told him to 'be patient and understanding' with the younger boy, no matter how difficult he could be. Their advice had just been little more than common knowledge to Ventus, as he'd always do his best to ensure his cousin was happy and wouldn't remain cross with him forever, that no matter their quarrels, they'd always remain friends at the end of the day.

"Fine." Roxas gave up arguing and decided to give it one more shot. But if he didn't score this time- he was done playing. Running forward, he tried to steal the ball, but Ventus passed him with relative ease and continued onward to the goal. "Hey! That's no fair!" Falling to his knees, and hitting the ground with his fists, the younger boy proceeded to cry. His hands now covered his face, and he sobbed bitter, angry tears. The display seemed to pique Ventus' attention, as he came running back over.

"Are you okay?" He thought he was doing pretty well at letting Roxas have a chance. For most parts of the game, he let his younger cousin steal the ball and get a goal or two. Maybe that wasn't enough. Stooping down to Roxas' level, he didn't know what to do. "I'm sorry!" Apologizing seemed to be the right first step. Ventus truly hoped that Roxas wouldn't be angry at him for what had happened.

Roxas pulled his hands down that had been covering his eyes, and his crying stopped. A smile spread across his face, "Gotcha." He stood up and ran past Ventus, scoring a goal. "I am the winner! Woohoo!"

Ventus was still in shock from the fact that he'd been deceived to really say anything. A dumbfounded look make its way across his face as he finally locked over at Roxas. "You...you cheated..." The first thing he said was what he'd been inwardly thinking. Roxas had been crying, and everything! It all looked incredibly real, but he'd been faking the whole time...

Roxas shrugged his shoulders, giving a mischievous smile "You fell for it."

"Because it sounded so real!" Ventus felt like an idiot. Although he had to admit it, that was a good ruse on Roxas' part.

"That was the point." Roxas stated the obvious, he wanted to win their game. And the only way to win apparently was to cheat. Ventus had the advantage, so he had to get creative. Maybe taking advantage of Ventus' good nature wasn't the best course of action, but he thought (correctly) that it would be the turning point of the game.

Ventus stood up, and decided to get over Roxas' cheating. Although he didn't really condone what happened, he was still going to be a good sport about it. "Good job." Ventus pat Roxas on the head and smiled down at his little cousin. Maybe they should end playing there, and find something else that they could do together instead of being against each other.

Roxas was surprised at Ventus' reaction. "You're...not mad?" The younger blonde asked, looking to the ground when he started speaking, and up at Ventus once he had finished. He knew what he did was absolutely wrong, and his arms were folded behind his back, the words 'I'm sorry' briefly flashed through his mind, and he was doing his best to summon the courage to say them.

"No." Ventus shook his head. "Why would I be? You managed to beat me, and it made you happy to beat me, right?" Ventus smiled, hoping that would reinforce the fact to Roxas that he wasn't angry.

"Yes, but-" Roxas began to argue that he really didn't win, so it was all pointless in the grand scheme of things.

"No 'buts' about it. If you're happy, then I'm happy." Ventus lightly shrugged his shoulders and held his smile. Roxas seemed a bit anxious and like he wanted to say something but just couldn't get it out, so Ventus ruffled his hair just a bit. "Let's go find something else to do, okay?"

"Sure." Roxas nodded, grateful that they could still continue to play together.

"What are you in the mood for?" Ventus wanted to brain storm some ideas, that way they could find something interesting to do. He didn't mind at all what activity he picked, so long as it was within their means to do it.

Roxas opened his mouth, but his stomach rumbled before he could speak. His cheeks lightly flushed with embarrassment as the loud noise filled the otherwise silence between both boys. Ventus lightly laughed at the disturbance, he hoped Roxas didn't take things the wrong way, but it just seemed funny to him. To his relief, Roxas had joined in on the laughter. Ruffling the younger blondes hair, Ventus lightly jogged. "I'll race you!"

"You're on!" Roxas grinned and happily accepted the challenge thrown his way. Running side-by-side with his cousin he eventually surpassed Ventus, and with the finish line in sight, Roxas wasn't going to slow down. Focusing on nothing else but getting to the backdoor, he wasn't even aware of the fact that Ventus was holding back in order to let him win. Eventually making it to the door, he touched it just to make sure he factually 'won' the contest. "I made it!" Leaning forward to catch his breath, he placed his hands over his thighs and tried to catch his breath.

"Good job! I knew you could do it!" Ventus smiled, lightly ruffling Roxas' hair. Roxas seemed really happy to have 'won' and there was absolutely no way he'd take that away from him. Self-confidence was a great thing to have, and the more he could instill in Roxas, the better.

Grinning really big, Roxas appreciated the praise. "I finally beat you!"

"Yep!" Ventus gave him a 'thumbs up'. "How about we go and get an apple?" Waiting for his little cousin to speak up, Ven thought of any alternatives they could have just in case Roxas decided the fruit just wasn't for him. Knowing that not likely to be the case, Ventus was more prepared to hear Roxas say 'yes' and make things easy on himself. It would be a good snack for them to share, and their mothers weren't too likely to care that they had one. Plus, it wouldn't be that much of a big deal since he was helping Roxas to eat a fruit as opposed to junk food.

"Sure!" Roxas readily agreed. Although he wasn't into fruits/vegetables very much, he did 'like' certain foods solely because Ventus enjoyed them. It was one of the reasons that they often made sure Ven was there should new food come to the table, that way the younger boy wouldn't just outright say 'I don't like' whichever foods it may be, and actually try it just because his cousin did so. How else was he to know that he factually enjoyed a food, if someone he idolized didn't make the choices for him? Though not much of a picky eater, Ven did make him have a much larger palette.

"Perfect." Ventus led Roxas inside and grabbed a large, red apple from the fridge. Grabbing a wooden cutting board and a knife, Ventus placed the fruit in front of him on the counter. Roxas grabbed his usual stool and stood beside Ventus, watching his every single movement in the preparation of their apple. Finding it both adorable and funny, Ventus smiled and chuckled a bit. Roxas was looking intently at what his cousin had been doing - from lifting the knife to plunging it carefully through the 'flesh'/'meat' of the apple, separating it into fourths and removing the seeds - even when Ventus had dropped a slice and swiftly picked it up from the floor. Even though no dirt had gotten on the apple due to it landing with the flesh side down, his cousin had still made a big scene of Ventus not simply discarding the apple. "You think I should throw it away?" Raising his brow, Ventus waited for an answer.

"Yes!" Roxas didn't hesitate at all in his answer. Sticking out his tongue, he found it gross that the apple was now dirty. Who knew what was on the floor/now on the apple?

"So...you're saying I shouldn't eat it then, right?" Ven asked, placing the apple near his mouth.

"No! It's disgusting! Don't do that! It's dirty- just throw it away!" Roxas tried to pull Ventus' hand away from his own mouth. Although he found the idea gross, he still smiled a bit at the idea of his cousin eating the filthy sliver of apple.

"Don't wanna." Ventus teased him, pulling his arm just out of reach so that Roxas couldn't grab his sleeve. Placing the apple closer to his mouth, Roxas' giggles egged him on a bit. Honestly, it had been on the floor for 1-3 seconds, and he didn't mind eating it at all. Even a quick rinse of water would make it just like the other slices, so he didn't know why Roxas was making a big deal out of nothing.

"Ven!" Roxas whined a bit. "Don't eat it!" Knowing fully well that Ventus usually gave in when Roxas begged in this manner, he waited for his cousin to fold.

"I'm gonna." Ventus shrugged his shoulders, slipping the slice into his mouth and eating it without a second thought. Though Roxas continued to protest, and his mouth gaped open at the prospect of what Ventus had just done, he secretly though Ventus was cool for what he did. "Delicious!" He winked and said the word in-between bites.

"You're gross!" Roxas made a sour face.

"Am I?" Ventus handed Roxas his two slices, and grabbed the peanut butter jar. He dipped his slice into the peanut butter jar directly, as it wasn't as if he'd licked the apple to make it 'dirty' or somehow contaminate the jar. Offering it over to Roxas, his overeager younger cousin worked on accomplishing what Ventus had done. In the back of his mind, he honestly hoped Roxas wouldn't start dropping things purposefully on the ground just so that he could eat them in an effort to seem more like Ventus. His mom likely wouldn't be too happy about this new trend of his, and in hindsight it was probably a mistake to show the younger, impressionable boy he _could_ \- but not necessarily _should_ \- eat food off the floor. After seeing Roxas struggle for a moment or two, Ventus gently took the slice from him and dipped it in peanut butter. "Here!"

Roxas folded his arms and turned his head away from Ventus. "I could have done it, you know!" He pouted and whined out the words. Hating Ventus having to do anything for him, Roxas really wanted to hurry and grow up so that he could perform the many feats his older cousin was able to do. Being little was so boring, because everyone treated you differently. Just because he was younger didn't mean he wanted to be treated like he was a kid who didn't know how to do anything on his own/had no independence.

"I know you could have." Ventus wouldn't dispute that fact. "But I saw you having a little trouble, and I wanted to help you out." Seeing that Roxas was still a bit mad at him, Ventus figured he'd have to put it in a simple way to make him understand. At least this way Roxas wouldn't be mad at him anymore. "You know, you're going to be going to school soon, and you won't need me anymore." Ventus looked at Roxas, and saw that he was getting through to him a little bit. Deciding to elaborate further, he continued his speech. "You're getting older, and you'll make so many new friends...you'll want to go and hangout with them, and then we won't have time together like this, anymore." Kindergarten was honestly such a fun year of school, and Ventus assumed that it would be up until he graduated. Was the first as good as the last? He'd get that answer in less than a decade. Turning his back to his cousin, he didn't want Roxas to think he was staring at him and trying to force a reaction out of him.

Finding himself hugged tightly from behind, Ventus' eyes widened. He hadn't expected Roxas to perform such a gesture. Smiling down at the tiny hands trying desperately to link themselves around his torso, he found himself being pulled back with as much force as Roxas could muster up. By Ventus' guess he was probably at the limit of his strength, and he didn't fight his slow retreat toward his cousin. "I'll always need you! You can do so many things that I can't! And...and I don't wanna make new friends if they take me away from you!"

Such a sweet, tender confession made Ventus smile. He honestly felt so loved when it came to his younger cousin. "I'm not saying that we'll _have_ to stop hanging around together, I'm saying that you'll meet new people who you'll end up liking and probably want to meet with even more than me. That's alright, too. I can only do some things that you can't because I'm older, that's all." Stepping out of the hug, Ventus turned around to see Roxas, seemingly on the edge of tears. Seeing one of the sights he hated to see, Ventus wondered what was wrong. "How come you're crying? Are you alright?"

"I don't want us to stop being friends!" Roxas explained the situation in the best way that he could- by shouting it out and letting bitter tears fall.

"But we're _not_ friends, Roxas." Ventus stated what he found to be the obvious, and Roxas seemed surprised and hurt by his statement. "We're more than that- we're family. We'll always have each other, no matter what happens. You'll never have to worry about 'losing' me, because I'll always be here." Hunching forward a bit, he hugged his cousin and gave him a gentle squeeze. "You're my best friend and probably _the_ best friend I'll ever have. I'm glad I got to have a cousin like you."

"Me too! I mean...I'm glad you're my cousin, too!" Roxas admitted happily, wiping off his lingering tears.

Pulling out of the hug, Ven was still smiling. Noticing his cousins peanut butter finger prints on his shirt, he just brushed it off. So he had to wash his shirt- big deal. "Wanna go play?"

"Mhm! Yeah!" Roxas nodded his head vigorously up and down. Grabbing his remaining apple slice, he ran over to the door and raced outside.

"Hey! You cheated!" Ventus called after him, hurrying after his cousin.


	9. Chapter 8: A New Challenger Appears

**Chapter 7: A New Challenger Appears**

Finally able to leave the infirmary, Roxas returned the ice packs and went on his way. The bell for lunch had rang, and he instantly took out his phone. Going to his contacts and scrolling down until he reached 'Ventus', Roxas clicked on his name and began typing. _'Up for a talk? I think I need someone to speak to who isn't...well, me.'_ Staring down at the screen, he wasn't sure on whether or not to send the words. His '...' must have been flashing long enough for Ven to notice, as before he could either delete his text or push 'send' he found himself on the receiving end of a phone call. Hitting the green 'answer' button he held the phone to his ear. "I swear you must be psychic or something." Being the first to speak up, he honestly wondered how Ventus just _knew_ something could be wrong. It was nice, because Roxas factually didn't have to do much except for vent his problems.

Hearing a small chuckle from Ventus, Roxas already felt at ease. "Hey! I just so happened to be looking through my phone and someone was trying to talk! Knowing you, you probably were trying to delete the message before I saw it." After the brief pause between both boys, Ventus took that as a 'yes'. "So, what's up stranger?"

"Where do you want me to begin- wanting to leave my new school, a boy who decided that no matter what we just 'had to be friends' and who now likes me, or the part where he thinks he can just kiss me whenever he wants?" Roxas had absolutely no qualms speaking to Ven about his problems. Listing off the biggest ones he currently had seemed only reasonable so that Ventus could pick and hear grievances accordingly.

"WHAT!?" Ventus had shouted so loud through the phone that Roxas had to move it back quite a ways from his ear. "Who? What? Where? When? How?" Roxas kissed a boy? This was actually some pretty big news, so large that Ventus barely even registered the fact that Roxas wanted to find a new school.

"I'm guessing you want to hear about the boy, right?" Roxas contextually already knew from Ventus' excitement that he had wanted to hear about Sora. But playing dumb would be better.

"Yes!" Ventus didn't mean to sound too eager, but he honestly found the situation to be so interesting- Roxas never really had an interest in anyone, let alone dating or kissing them, so this was a big deal. Were they boyfriends? How long had they known each other? What brought on such an encounter? Who instigated it? There were so many questions that Ventus wanted to ask, but he knew Roxas would hate the prospect of him babbling at a million miles a minute. Was he just jumping ahead of himself? Ventus honestly just couldn't help it- this was really exciting!

Roxas shook his head and laughed a little. It was good to hear from Ven. "I don't think I want to give you his name- because I _know_ you'll try and meddle."

"I will not!" Ventus protested. "You can't say that without even giving me a chance! Come on, Roxas!" Begging his younger brother, he hoped that would be enough to force him into telling.

"Hang on a second." Noticing that the hallways were getting overly crowded, he didn't want anyone to eavesdrop so Roxas opted to go outside. Though his hand was on the phone and muffling noises coming from it, he still heard bits and pieces from Ventus' side of things. Striding to an exit, he almost felt like shoulder checking a few people out of his way. Thankfully, he made it outside before any drastic measures needed to be taken. Putting his cellphone back to his ear, Roxas began walking around the courtyard and searching for a 'private' area to sit and talk in. "Hello?"

"I'm still waiting!" Ventus almost impatiently said from his end of things. He understood that Roxas was a very private person and didn't want to be spilling his secrets to anyone who'd listen.

"I knew you would be." Roxas commented. Bypassing a few other people, he decided that hanging around the smoking area wouldn't be a viable choice, as it was already flooded with a few individuals. Walking to the back of the school, he found a few bleachers and an empty area. "His name is Sora-" Deciding to at least give Ventus a chance like he'd asked for, Roxas was just going to tell him everything he possibly could. "-he's got brown hair, spiky...not like ours, but it's still messy and looks like it somehow defies gravity- maybe he uses gel." Musing more to himself, Roxas hadn't realized he'd paused for a good while. "He's also got blue eyes. They're not as light as ours, but they're a nice pigment of blue...maybe cerulean? He also likes to smile and grin a lot. Friendly in the sense that he's not afraid to approach just about anyone- not the typical pain in the ass 'decides he's everybody's pal' kinda way, if that makes sense."

Ventus couldn't help but to laugh a little bit. "You seem to really like this boy." That much seemed obvious to him. Roxas wasn't exactly 'gushing' about details, but in his own little way- he was. In all his years of meeting people, he never really bothered to learn their names, let alone hair/eye color, mannerisms or anything about them, really.

"I think it's the opposite, actually." Thinking it over, Roxas wasn't so sure himself in what he thought of Sora. Sighing heavily, he ran his fingers through his hair and stared aimlessly up at the sky. "He's... _annoying_ , Ven! I never thought someone could piss me off this much and not get a beating. From day one he just decided that he and I were supposed to be friends, even though I told him time and again that I had no interest in doing so." Frowning a bit, Roxas recalled their very first encounter. Everyone in the classroom - understandably - had been staring at him because he was a new arrival, and they were curious. But Sora was the only one who stood out to him. Of all the people in the faceless crowd, he'd been the one whose gaze caught his eye- maybe it was because he seemed 'different' from the rest. "And it's not like I could just get away from him, either! We have all of the same classes and our lockers are right beside each other!" Not knowing how long he'd been holding onto this irritation, Roxas was a bit surprised at himself. Even after all of that venting he'd done to Sora there was still quite a bit of anger left in him.

"Maybe you like him?" Ventus heard everything Roxas had to say, and it honestly sounded like he did have some form of attraction to the brunette boy named 'Sora'. "Just hear me out on this, alright? Because, and correct me if I'm wrong- but you _can_ get your classes switched around, right? Even if you have to be with the same teacher, getting the times changed around would be no big deal." At least, that was the way things had worked when he'd gone to high school. Maybe they changed things around a bit since then.

"Have you heard a word that I said? He irritates me, a lot." Roxas paused for a moment, listening to Ven's suggestion. "I think it's a little late for that- he _likes_ me, Ven. Not just in the 'friend' way, but in the comfortable 'are we dating?' way. He asked me that, you know? I'm an idiot for kissing him. It was a mistake. I screwed up." Though not quite the way he wanted to reveal that portion of things, Roxas just wanted to try and resolve these issues before he and Sora wound up in a room together.

Dumbfounded, Ventus took a moment or two to respond. "Roxas...if he irritates you like you say he does, then why would you kiss him? Wouldn't that do the exact opposite of what you wanted?" Did he know for a fact that this Sora boy was actually gay, or was he just assuming so?

"I don't know." Roxas said flatly, feeling a bit exhausted on the topic of 'Sora'. "It's hard to explain, Ven. We went on what basically was a 'date', and I told him a few things about myself that I ordinarily wouldn't tell anyone...then he got the wrong idea at the end of it- he thought I was going to kiss him, and he freaked out. Sora just had cotton candy on his face and I was trying to take it off. When I came to school today, Ven, this wasn't on my list of things to do. We were supposed to talk things over, and I...got carried away, I guess. He kissed me, too! So it's not like I'm the one entirely to blame for this! Even if I started it- he didn't have to initiate another one!"

Ventus felt like he was honestly getting fragmented, butchered pieces of the story. Roxas wasn't exactly calm at the moment, so that could be contributing to the situation. "Have you tried talking about this with Sora?"

"No!" Roxas scoffed. "Are you crazy? He's... _Sora_! He won't exactly get where I'm coming from or what I'm trying to say, so then he'll start crying because I'm being 'too harsh' or get his feelings hurt, and then I'll be the asshole who has to apologize."

"I never knew a name could be used to describe a person. I guess I'll have to find out what the means when I visit, huh?" Ventus was getting more and more surprised about all of Roxas' admissions. Thankfully, it wouldn't be long before he'd be right there to help.

"Are you serious?" Roxas sincerely hoped Ventus wasn't screwing with him- because this was the best news he'd heard in a while.

"Yep! I have a break coming up, and I'll be able to come and visit you!" Ventus swore he heard Roxas' relief/perk up a bit at him saying he was coming.

"How long will you be staying for?" Roxas honestly wished he'd stay for a while, but with Ventus going to school that wasn't exactly possible. Despite how much he wanted to see him again, he'd never mess with his studies.

"Hmm. I think...let's see..." Ventus rummaged around with a few things until he found what he was looking for. "Looks like I can stay for...about a week."

"Sounds good. Longer than I expected, anyway." Roxas was grateful for that fact. "When are you dropping by?"

"This weekend. How about you invite your... _friend_ over so I can meet him? I wanna meet your other friends, too!" Ventus emphasized the word 'friend' when speaking about Sora but used it normally when he spoke of any individuals who weren't in the brunettes shoes.

 _I have no friends._ How was Roxas supposed to say that to his brother, especially when Ventus seemed excited to be coming? "That's a little ironic. You know, he actually told me his mom wanted to meet me. So I guess we're doing the 'family' thing." Though Roxas factually had no idea what kind of person the woman he'd be meeting was like- Sora seemed to get the easiest encounter when it came to family.

"I'm so happy for you two." Ventus lightly teased Roxas, expecting an ear full of how they weren't a couple.

Roxas snorted. "I have to meet his mom- he gets to meet _you_. I think he wins the contest of who's going to be getting off easy." Then it finally dawned on Roxas- Sora had spoken of Ven before. "He's getting exactly what he wants, too! Sora said that he wanted to meet you."

"You don't sound too thrilled about meeting his mom- but I do look forward to meeting him. He sounds...interesting, and if he's caught your eye- then he'd have to be." Ventus wanted to hear more, but he knew that Roxas would be finished with his break soon and didn't want to keep him any longer. "Listen, I'll call you back later, okay?"

"Sure." Roxas nodded even though he knew Ven wouldn't have been able to see the gesture. Hanging up his phone, he sighed and went back into the school building. There wasn't much of his lunch break, but he didn't even feel like eating. Walking to his locker, he supposed he'd just grab his things and wait outside his English classroom until the bell rang. Taking out his bag, he rummaged through it and stopped once he heard Sora laughing. Doing his best to be inconspicuous, he tilted his head ever so slightly so that he could view over the locker door. He saw Sora with his friends: Riku, Kairi, Namine...and another one. One he never saw before- another boy. Frowning, he stared at the black haired individual. From behind, he absolutely looked like a gothic Sora- did he have a twin that he didn't know about? While speculating on their similarities, he saw the black haired one wrap his arm around Sora and get closer than he would have liked. Before he even noticed it, his hand had balled into a fist, and he was furious. Feeling his eye twitch, Roxas honestly wanted to go over there and break his nose. Despite all of the karate he'd been taking in order to steady himself- it didn't appear to be working.

"Hey! Roxas!" Sora waved and called him over, hoping he'd come and meet his new friend. Surprised when the blonde turned and began going in the opposite direction, his smile faded and he excused himself from the group. Striding across the courtyard, he finally caught up to Roxas and lightly tapped him on the shoulder. "You're all better! I was going to come by, but by the time I reached the office you weren't there and-" Instantly shutting up when he received a glare that sent shivers down his spine, followed by Roxas shrugging his hand off, Sora wondered if something was wrong.

"Leave me alone, Sora." Not in the mood for their usual back and forth, he was honestly ready to pummel the next person for pissing him off for even the slightest of reasons. Both his hands were clenched so hard that his knuckles had turned white, but Roxas didn't seem to notice it at all.

"What's the matter? I met someone you'd wanna meet! He's really nice and seems like he'd get along well with you!" Sora did his best to try and calm Roxas down, but it didn't seem to be working. Had something happened?

"If he's so 'nice' and interesting- then why don't you go bother him?" Roxas snapped at Sora - he honestly couldn't help it, he was furious - without really even knowing why. Well, that's not exactly true- Roxas didn't like the other boy who was getting close to Sora, and the fact that Sora was _allowing_ himself to be touched in such a manner by a complete stranger(?).

Sora couldn't help flinching at both the harshness of Roxas' tone/the scary look on his face. Clearly he'd made him mad somehow but Sora didn't know how to fix something that he had no clue about. "I'm...bothering you?" Pointing to himself, Sora wanted to make absolutely sure.

Opening his mouth, Roxas shut it, shook his head and continued walking. There was no point in saying a word to him.

Sora really wanted to run after his friend, but he decided it was best not to. Bowing his head, he turned on his heels and walked back to his lunch table. Sitting without saying a word, he leaned his head forward and rest it on his forearms. Why was Roxas so mad at him- had he done something wrong? What happened between him dropping Roxas off at the nurses office until now? As he was right now, there was absolutely no point in Sora trying to talk things out with Roxas. Fighting back the bitter sting of tears, Sora hadn't even noticed the fact that everyone around the table had stopped speaking and were now all focused on him. Blinking until they faded away, he was startled when a light tap on his shoulder caused him to jump and look up at the person.

"You okay?" Namine asked, looking concerned for her friend. She didn't know exactly what had happened during that little encounter, but Sora had left the table in a very chipper, happy mood and came back in his current state. What had happened in those few minutes between them?

"I'm fine. Just tired." Sora did his best to lie. He didn't want them to know that he was upset- even going so far as to try and deceive them. They'd had/heard enough of his problems, and he honestly didn't want them to worry.

"You got 'tired' really quick." Riku folded his arms and frowned.

"Is he mad at you for some reason?" Though Kairi couldn't say for certain, she swore that Roxas had been giving Sora particularly nasty looks.

Averting his eyes, Sora honestly didn't want to answer the question.

"I take it blondie is trouble? Vanitas spoke up, deciding to interrupt as Sora didn't really seem interested in answering their questions. Gauging from his reactions, it was fairly obvious that the blonde boy treated Sora like less than a person.

All at once, the group turned to Sora. Kairi and Namine both glanced at one another and wondered if they should speak up on the subject matter. Despite their own opinions on the matter, both girls decided it best not to comment. Riku seemed the most eager of everyone, but held his tongue out of kindness for Sora. He knew that even if he was upset with Roxas, he didn't want any of his friends slamming him. Deciding to abstain like the rest, they all waited for Sora himself to comment on the situation.

"No, it's...ah...hard to explain." Sora scratched the back of his head, offering an apologetic smile to Vanitas. He wasn't quite sure on how to say their dynamic worked, because for all intensive purposes- it _didn't_. Roxas would get mad at him, Sora would apologize, Roxas would demand to know how/why Sora was apologizing - for which a specific/concise reasoning needed to be provided, else he get further angered - and, until they 'made up' he'd be left with a gloomy feeling that his friends could see through in an instant. "He's...you just need to get to know him, I guess. Even though he may seem like a 'mean' person, he's actually very kind! Roxas has actually done a lot for me without even asking for anything in return, and...and..." fidgeting with his fingers, Sora felt his cheeks get a bit warm. He was babbling like an idiot to the group, and their constant stares had him feel like he was somehow doing something odd. Averting his eyes, he wanted to say so much more- but Sora didn't want to relay current events to the entire group, let alone with his new friend.

"Sora-" Kairi was the first to speak up. Gaining his attention, she decided to test out her little theory. "-how would you describe Riku?" Though Riku seemed a bit puzzled at her question, she shot him a look that said 'I'll explain later'.

"Riku...?" Sora tapped his finger on his chin while staring at his best friend. Thinking it over for a few moments, he finally had the answer to Kairi's question. "Well, he's smart- that much is pretty obvious...but he's also nice, loyal and willing to help people out even if he gives you a bit of grief for it every now and then- even if he doesn't mean it. But most of all, I think he's a really good friend that anyone would be lucky to have. Why do you ask?" Tilting his head to the side, Sora innocently wondered why Kairi asked such a peculiar question- why did she want to hear about Riku at a time like this?

"I can't tell you, Sora." Kairi smiled, shaking her head ever so slightly. Seeing the semi-confused look plastered on Sora's face, she decided to follow up a bit so he wouldn't be overly concerned with things. "You don't need to worry- it's nothing bad, if that's what you're thinking. I just wanted to know something, and I think I understand."

Namine had caught the difference between his explanations of character when it came to Roxas/Riku- Sora seemed to have a definite 'like' for both boys, but it was absolutely different. Riku was a _friend_ , whereas Roxas seemed to come off as _more_ than just a simple 'friend'. In all of the years that she'd known Sora, Namine would never have pegged the boy as 'gay', but 'straight' or any other label didn't seem to fit him, either. He never really had an interest in dating others or having anything deeper than friendship. To her, Sora always seemed like he was a little too naive/innocent to have a relationship, as they'd likely require things he just didn't know about, and whomever he ended up at the end of things would likely be forced to take the lead. Roxas could definitely be _that_ person for him, but she had absolutely no idea on whether or not Roxas felt the same way. In her observations of him, he did seem to have a small comfort zone, but relatively large capacity of enduring through a person like Sora - of which he seemed to have little patience at times - But from the light flush on his cheeks when speaking of Roxas/the innocence when it came to Riku...maybe this was his person? If this did turn out to be the case, then Namine was absolutely happy for Sora. Resolving to not offer her input, she checked the time. Discreetly packing up her things, she decided it was time to get to her third class.

About to say something, Sora was cut short by the warning bell signifying everybody needed to get themselves to class, lest they incur the divine wrath that could be brought down by a teacher. And DiZ definitely did _not_ accept students who were tardy. Basically tripping out of his seat, Sora shut his eyes and outstretched his arms, hoping for the best. Holding in a breath, he was ready for the brunt of the fall. After a few moments, he was surprised when he didn't immediately hit the ground. Feeling a pair of hands on his shoulders, Sora was grateful to have been caught by someone. His first thought was that it had somehow been Roxas to have 'saved' him, no matter how wrong that theory would prove to be. "Thank you..." Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see that his 'savior' had been Vanitas, of all people.

"Don't worry about it." Vanitas shrugged his shoulders. It could have just been him, but, he saw gratitude on Sora's face followed by what he assumed to be a slight bit of disappointment. Did Sora actually _want_ to fall? "Just be a little more careful next time, huh? Why were you in such a rush, anyway?" Seeing the brunette basically jerk himself out of his seat was quite the sight.

"I, uh...my teacher- he doesn't like people who are late." Sora explained from his odd position, embarrassed at the fact that his new friend had seen him be so overly clumsy, Sora scratched the back of his head and grinned while his cheeks grow hot. Fixing himself, he stood and dusted himself off.

"Who's your teacher?" Vanitas found himself a bit curious. He wanted to know, just in case he ended up with the teacher who made you basically harm yourself to make it to class.

"DiZ." Sora cringed at the thought of his angry teacher. "I need to hurry up!" Not meaning to shout thoughts out loud, Sora began to scramble to his locker. Finally noticing he wasn't moving at all, he turned around to see Vanitas grasping at his hoodie, keeping him from making any progress.

"I have the same teacher for my next class- mind if I stick around?" Vanitas didn't particularly care whether or not he was late to the class, but decided he may as well show up with Sora- everything with the brunette seemed like it would be...interesting.

"No problem!" Sora nodded. "We need to hurry, though- he locks the door right when the bell rings and if you're late...he won't let you in." Though he wanted to explain further, Sora knew better than to gamble on DiZ's time. Walking briskly - borderline sprinting - through the hallway, Sora swiftly collected his things from his locker, and made a silent vow to make it in record time to DiZ's classroom. He honestly didn't want to be in trouble with DiZ/Sora wanted to resolve his issues with Roxas, whatever they may be- and making it to class was the only way he knew of to do both. Caught up in his own reasoning of things, Sora didn't even bother to see if Vanitus could keep up with his speed or not, to him, the goal at hand was currently the only thing that mattered.

 _Glutton for punishment_. That was Vanitas' initial observation of Sora- was he really so keen on showing up to his next class with that blonde guy? 'Roxas' seemed to treat him like a lesser individual, and Sora was your typical nice guy who liked to try and please everyone, so naturally he went out of his way to befriend one of the most difficult individuals he came across. A noble, but futile venture. From their previous two periods together, Vanitas honestly got a sense of his character, and Sora was a person that most wouldn't find too hard to manipulate into getting what they wanted- but what did Roxas want from him? From their exchange, it seemed all that he hoped to gain was for Sora to leave him alone. Doing his best to keep up with Sora's speed, Vanitas eventually found himself caught up and the two going inside of DiZ's classroom. Despite the big fuss Sora had made over DiZ- the teacher was nowhere in sight, and the room was basically empty, save for a particular blonde male.

The icy stare he shot in - what many would likely perceive as - Sora's direction seemed to send a chill down the brunette's spine. But to Vanitas- it seemed like the stare was directed at himself. Maybe he'd been wrong, as it seemed Sora was the only one who had a grievance with him, but Vanitas felt like they were _both_ in the same boat. Shrugging it off, he didn't really give a damn on whether or not Roxas liked him at all. He had no factual interest in the blonde, save for natural born curiosity stemmed from interactions he'd only witnessed not too long ago.

"Should we go find our seats?"

Turning his head, Vanitas stared at Sora. When had he found the time to walk around him? "Do we just sit anywhere, or is there some tedious seating plan in place?" Glancing through the corner of his eye, he met the piercing gaze Roxas was sending his way. Snorting a bit, Vanitas had to guess that he was 'jealous' of their little interaction- just how petty could an individual get?

"Nope. We're allowed to sit wherever we want. DiZ may be strict, but he does have some leeway for us." Sora smiled, and folded both arms behind his head. "Do you wanna sit together?" In truth, he just didn't want to sit next to Roxas before he had some time to cool down or for Sora to find out what the problem had been/how to rectify it.

"Sure." Vanitas shrugged his shoulders. Sora seemed to be a bit relieved at his answer, and Vanitas didn't question it- he knew _exactly_ why Sora was so eager to find someone else to neighbor by. Clearly he was used to sitting with Roxas pre-whatever the hell this was. Deciding on a row for them, he grabbed Sora's hand and led him to the very back in the corner opposite of Roxas' chosen spot. Feeling more of a heated glare, Vanitas' lips curled up into a smirk, while his companion seemed to shrink beside him. "Don't like the spot?" He 'innocently' asked Sora while feigning a bit of surprise. Call him a 'cold' individual, but he didn't so much mind the friction between both boys, nor the fact that the blonde seemed to have anger issues.

"N-no...this is fine!" Using his hands as a form of diffusing what Vanitas had perceived - and rightfully so - to be an uncomfortable situation, Sora sat in the seat even though he felt like finding a new spot. He swore that Roxas' stare was trained on them the entire time.

"Your boy friend seems angry." Tapping his fingers lightly on the desk he was sitting at, Vanitas tried to pass some of the time before glancing back at Sora. To his surprise, the brunette was blushing heavily at his remark.

"H-he's not my boyfriend! I asked!" Blurting out that line before he could stop himself, Sora instantly placed his hands over his mouth and lay his burning face on the desk. Roxas was now probably going to kill him.

Taking a moment for those words to register, Vanitas let out a small laugh and shook his head. "Hey! You okay down there?" Poking his shoulder, he tried to ease the tension in the situation. "Look, I didn't mean 'boyfriend' I meant 'boy friend'. You know, like a boy who's a friend? As opposed to a boy who takes you out on dates, and...well, you know the rest, I guess." Speaking in a low voice, he didn't want to embarrass Sora for his previous statement. Was that the problem between the two boys? Roxas turned him down as a love prospect, and was mad at him for being gay? That kinda thing was really lame, actually. Why did people have to give a damn about sexuality and jump the gun when it came to these kinds of things? Well, now he just _had_ to screw with the blonde guy.

Turning as opposed to lifting his head, Sora looked up at his new friend. "You probably think I'm weird now, don't you?" A bit ashamed that he'd just assumed and blurted out what was a secret, Sora hoped that he'd be forgiven.

"Not really." Vanitas shrugged his shoulders. "But I think I know what our little 'friends' problem is, and I think I know how to fix it, too."

"You do!?" Sora asked, excitedly. Sitting up, he wanted to be at full alert for what Vanitas had to say. Was it really so obvious, that for someone who had no idea of the problem had figured it out before he had?

"Yeah, I do." Glancing back at Roxas, Vanitas knew this would be a fun little 'game'. Leaning forward, he kissed Sora. Not just a tiny little peck on the lips, but long enough to make a lasting impression on Roxas to the point that the blonde boy was considering a haymaker to break his nose. Pulling back, the black haired boy was quite pleased with himself. Leaning in so that he was by Sora's ear, he began to whisper. "He doesn't like gay people, right? Well, I hope we gave him a great show." Standing up, Vanitas walked over to Roxas and leaned over his desk. "I really _hate_ snobs. Always tiny, tiny souls...or penises- or both."

Clenching his jaw, Roxas gave him a glare that could kill even the bravest of people. If Vanitas factually knew _why_ he was angry, or _what_ he could achieve, if he really put his mind to it- he doubted that this new boy would be declaring a challenge like this to him. Standing up and walked past/slamming his shoulder hard into Vanitas' he grabbed Sora by his forearm and dragged him out of the classroom. Not saying a word, he was absolutely seething from the display he'd just seen between Sora and this new boy- wanting to set a few things straight: Roxas was going to give him a firm talking to.

"Roxas...class is about to start! We're going to get in trouble if we don't get back in t-" Stopping when Roxas shot him a look that said 'shut up', Sora allowed himself to be led wherever they were going. He wished Roxas would release his arms so he could at the very least fidget and keep himself busy- but Sora knew better than to ask for such a luxury. Noticing them leave the school building, Sora knew he'd be in trouble if he skipped school, as he'd never done so before and honestly wasn't sure he wanted to start right now.

Leading him through the double doors, Roxas brought Sora around the corner and pinned him against the wall. Their height difference didn't seem to matter all that much, that is...until now. Sora shrunk against the wall and stared up at Roxas, hoping to figure out what kind of confrontation this would be. His lips opened, and Roxas' name nearly escaped, until Roxas clamped his hand over Sora's mouth. "Shush." After Sora seemed complacent, Roxas removed his hand and stared down at the shorter male. "Are you trying to make me angry, Sora?" Roxas punched the wall, above Sora's head. He didn't mean for it to scare him, but hoped that it would help relieve the aggression he felt was boiling out.

"N-no!" Sora shook his head frantically. "I...I don't know what you mean."

Heaving out a heavy sigh, Roxas couldn't do this- he was a mess over his 'not-boyfriend' Sora. Scaring the hell out of him would honestly achieve nothing. Backing away, he sat on the nearby stairs and held his head in his hands. "How could you not...!? You're...with that boy...!" So furious that he couldn't formulate the sentences he'd like to be, Roxas almost gave up on talking altogether. This was pointless. Sora _wasn't_ the one he was angry with. He really wanted to kick that black haired, cat eyed guys ass.

"Vanitas...?" Sora blinked, staring blankly at Roxas. Feeling confused, he walked over and knelt down so that he could look into Roxas' eyes. "He's a new friend! I just met him today, and I was showing him around..." Though he never counted on the fact that he'd actually kiss him for some strange reason.

Roxas scoffed a bit and turned his head away. Glancing at Sora through the corner of his eye, he wanted to observe his reaction without being caught in the act. "So you just run around kissing all of your male friends?"

"No!" Sora shook his head, hoping that Roxas would believe him. "I- you- youweremyfirstkiss!" Babbling so quick that his words joined into a lengthy mass of syllables, Sora shut his eyes tight and let the phrase spill out.

Taken aback, Roxas had completely forgotten that fact. He was Sora's first ever kiss. "Sora...you _let_ him kiss you. You even said we 'aren't boyfriends' out loud in the classroom- what the hell are you doing with 'Vanitas'? Have you moved on to the next boy who came along, just because I didn't say that we're dating?" Roxas didn't necessarily believe - nor want to - that theory, but it was still a possibility that he wanted to go over.

"I didn't!" Sora shook his head, vehemently denying Roxas' accusation. "He...he just...he kissed me! And...like you said about your first kiss- it meant _nothing_. I didn't like it, at all. It was different from when...you did it." Tilting his head down, Sora hoped he didn't see his blush. Honestly, he'd have to start wearing scarves or turtle necks with the amount of blushing he was doing in order to hide it. "I- _you_ said we weren't dating, and Vanitas asked if we were, I told him what you said...was that bad?" Biting his lip, Sora hoped that Roxas wasn't still angry at him.

Surprised by Sora's confession that he _enjoyed_ Roxas kissing him, as opposed to this 'Vanitas' boy, he felt his anger fade away. "Yeah, I did say that- but it doesn't mean you can just go around doing things like that with anyone you want." Doing a combination of a frown/pout, Roxas hoped he conveyed anger- but at this point it seemed like nothing but idle threats of the former emotion.

"I don't want to do that with anyone else." Sora spoke the words with a perfectly innocent look on his face. "They...don't seem to be enjoyable, unless it's with Roxas."

Sora really must like him. Roxas honestly couldn't say the same, as to him, he only had bits and pieces of what could be construed as 'like'- such as getting jealous of the new kid who showed up. Just what had he missed this morning? He hoped that this 'Vanitas' character wouldn't end up being in all of their classes- as he already wanted to leap over the desks and strangle him with a sleeper hold. Grabbing either side of Sora's face, Roxas leaned closer until their foreheads touched. "Sora, I don't know enough to say whether or not I _could_ call you my 'boyfriend', ever- but...you were my first kiss with a boy and vise-versa, and...I know you're a _nice_ person who likes to befriend other people- but for the love of God _:_ Don't. Let. Anyone. Kiss you, again." On seeing/feeling the nod from Sora, Roxas tilted his head to the side and saw Sora shut his eyes. Sora obviously expected Roxas to kiss him, and have this be some sort of 'tender' moment- but Roxas knew that would be too easy. Sora was going to get a little grief for the situation that had come to pass, regardless of if he had participated or not. Removing his hands from either side of Sora's face, he flicked him on the nose in lieu of kissing the brunette.

"Ouch! What was that for!?" Sora asked, holding his nose and speaking in a peculiar manner from doing so. He honestly hadn't been expecting the hit to his nose, and now he felt like a moron for shutting his eyes.

"Punishment." Roxas shrugged, not daring to elaborate further. If he had problems like this when it came to Sora and them _not_ being a couple, would gay boys spontaneously keep showing up in order to throw a wrench in their 'relationship'? Because, at the rate things were going, Roxas would be more inclined to maim and or hurt them to the point that they know better than to go around Sora. He wouldn't be too likely to escape with just a 'self-defense' claim this time around. Hearing the bell ring that signified class had began, Roxas hopped off the stairs. "Let's go." Walking in the opposite direction of the school, he stopped when Sora stayed rooted to the spot he'd been standing in. "What's the problem?" Looking back at Sora, he expected an explanation.

"I...I can't skip school! I never have, and my mom would get mad!" Sora wanted to go back inside and beg DiZ for the opportunity to be allowed inside the classroom.

Roxas let out a scoff/laugh and walked over to Sora. "And you think _I_ have? What makes you think I'm the kinda guy who skips out on school?" Just because he had, and Sora - rightfully - assumed he'd participated in the activity before, didn't mean he was going to let him off easy.

"I...I don't know, but I don't want to get in trouble!" Sora's hands balled into fists while he tried to coax Roxas into going back in with him.

"How 'scary' is your mother, that you don't even want to miss one class?" Roxas folded his arms, closing the gap between them.

"She's...she's not scary- I just...don't want her to be disappointed with me." Sora admitted, fidgeting with his fingers and looking up at Sora.

"So blame me. It's not a lie, and if she gets mad at anyone- it'll be _me_. I have to meet her today, right? I'll apologize to her then. And if it really gets you hot and bothered, we can tell Ven that it was my idea, too." To Roxas, it factually wasn't the biggest deal in the world. What would be so important in one English class that they had to be there every single day? Factually, he'd gone almost an entire year of ditching classes and showing up just to take tests in order to pass them with ease. It had pissed off his teacher, as she said that it 'wasn't fair' someone so smart as Roxas could get away with doing minimal work when everyone else was struggling/studying and doing their hardest in their class, yet he just got by. Could they really blame him? School got so boring and hard to endure through when his last actual friend was gone. Without Axel- he found no point in returning to school. The people were all superficial, and many people assumed that he was a 'nice' person, solely because of his looks/athletic ability/intelligence- as if any of those things factored in to what others called a 'kindness'.

"Ven?" Pausing for a moment, Sora had to recall the name. "Your brother is coming!?" Seeing the excitement from Sora, Roxas just decided to nod. "When!? Do I get to meet him!?" Barely able to contain himself, Sora grabbed Roxas by the shoulders and began to frantically ask him a multitude of questions.

Surprised by his reaction, Roxas took a moment to recover. "He'll be here this weekend. He was looking forward to meeting you, too." Sora seemed more giddy about Ventus coming than even Roxas himself.

"Really? That's so cool!" Sora seemed to completely have forgotten about the fact that he and Roxas were now technically 'ditching' school.

"You sound about as excited as he is to be coming." Roxas commented. It was remarkable how he and Ventus seemed to be just about the same person when it came to certain things.

"Because this is your family! I really want to meet him!" Sora explained what he thought to be the obvious. Seeing Roxas' big brother, he wondered exactly what kind of person Ventus was. Roxas seemed to have a really high regard for him, so Sora assumed he was a good person.

Moving out of Sora's grip, Roxas grabbed his hand and began to lead Sora away from the school. "Yeah? Why's that?"

Sora shrugged his shoulders a bit. "It's just nice to met new people! And you make him seem like a really good person, and if you like him- then he has to be really special, right?"

"I...don't know about that." Roxas admitted, looking away. _You like him._ Ventus had openly stated that, while listening to Roxas and his ramblings over Sora, and if he was to admit that people he liked were 'special', then would Sora get that idea? Roxas couldn't deny that he had an attraction to Sora- and he was a tad bit ashamed to say that it had come from his physical looks and not so much from how he acted. Sure, Sora was a very kind, 'nice' individual- but he was also very _naive_ and easily manipulated. His right hand tightened at those unpleasant thoughts.

"Roxas...is something the matter?" Sora asked, looking down at their hands. Wait- _when_ did they start holding hands? Glancing at the blonde, he didn't have any indication on whether or not he hated the situation.

"No." Roxas didn't want to bother sparking up another conversation about _Vanitas._ "Let's go do something. We've got an hour and a half to kill."

Finally realizing that they were off the school's property, Sora felt what could be akin to an anxiety attack. Biting his lip, he tried to go back, but Roxas' strong grip prevented him from doing so. Deciding his struggle was absolutely futile, Sora bowed his head and followed Roxas obediently. Gently squeezing Roxas' hand, he felt a two-fold feeling: fear and excitement. They were doing something that technically wasn't 'allowed', they'd probably get into trouble over it, and yet- he almost didn't care. Sure, his heart was pounding and going a mile a minute, but that could just as easily be from the fact that Roxas and he were holding hands. Stealing a glance at Roxas, he seemed calm, cool and collected about the whole situation. Deciding to take a page from him, Sora tried to calm himself down.

"Sora, are you okay?" Roxas asked, he noticed that he was acting even stranger than usual. Was this _really_ that bad for him?

"I've...never done this, before." Sora admitted, but he found himself caring about skipping school less and less. Maybe the thought of hanging out with Roxas instead had gotten to him.

"You seem to say that a lot, at least...around me, anyway." Roxas' comment came off as a bit bland, even if he hadn't meant for it to. What else was he even supposed to say? Observing Sora, he watched all of his expressions at the things he glanced at, ranging from vague curiosity to full-blown excitement. His child-like nature could very much irritate Roxas to no end, but seeing him like this...he didn't so much mind it. Caught up in his aesthetic, Roxas didn't even hear the words that Sora had spoken. Thankfully, he'd seen what Sora was pointing at and eagerly leading him over to. A cardboard box, of all things. Frowning a bit, Roxas decided to humor him- mostly because he had no idea what Sora had said and was already in too deep to ask for him to explain himself.

"Roxas, look!" Sora pointed down at the box, grinning ear-to-ear at Roxas.

"What am I supposed to be looking at, Sora?" Roxas honestly had no idea. It was a box.

"You don't see it?" Sora cocked his head to the side. Kneeling down, he pulled open the top and out popped a tiny, furry head. "Aww!" Already deciding he loved the animal, Sora fished the kitten out of the box while it promptly began to mew at him. Smiling down at the kitten, he pet it and enjoyed the softness/little nibbles it did on his finger. Laughing as it climbed onto his shoulder, the black animal was already growing on him. He really wanted to ask his mother if he could keep it- but he knew that A: He should be in school and not using a cellphone and B: She'd probably say 'no'.

"You're going to take that home with you?" Roxas had never been really one for animals- he just didn't see the appeal. Maybe it was because of the fact that none of them really seemed to like him, either. Why bother trying to adore something that would only show you spite?

"I wish I could...but I don't think my mom would let me." Sora shook his head, looking down at the kitten. "Do you want to try and hold him?" He'd been hogging the adorable little animal for all this time, and never once thought of if Roxas would like to hold it.

Roxas shook his head. "No. It wouldn't like me."

"Huh?" Sora's face displayed the skepticism of the phrase Roxas had just spoken. "How could animals not _like_ anyone? They're so little, and full of love...they can't not like someone!"

Letting out a sigh, Roxas decided to show him his nerfed 'luck' when it came to animals. Kneeling down, he reached out and was instantly met with claws, hissing and the kittens hairs standing on end. While it retreated back to Sora's shoulder for a safe haven, Roxas inspected his now bleeding hand. "See? I told you. Animals hate me."

"He seems...really scared." Sora admitted, looking at the furious animal. Why did it react so badly?

"Some people say animals can judge whether a person is kind or not. They probably know the kind of person that I am and don't like me for it. I don't blame them." Roxas shrugged. His hand still stung a bit, but he decided to walk it off. Stepping back, he saw the instant change in the animal's demeanor- it instantly went back to a loving kitten once more.

"I don't think that's true at all!" Sora shook his head. "I just...I think he got scared, that's all! You're not a mean person, and he just...hasn't gotten to know you yet."

"And he never will." Roxas glared down at the animal. It acted perfectly 'normal' when it came to Sora, yet when he dared get within its proximity, the kitten lashed out and acted as if he were a dog, or threat to it in some way.

"You want to go, right?" Sora asked. "I have to go now, okay? I hope you find a home..." He gave it a sad, lasting look that sad 'farewell'. Pressing their foreheads together, he did his best to cheer up, even though he didn't want to part with the animal. Kissing it on the head, he placed it back in the box. Standing up and brushing himself off, Sora was a tad bit disappointed that they had to go, but he'd probably eventually get over it.

Running his fingers through his hair, Roxas factually knew he was going to hate himself and - more than likely - the rest of his days for the phrase he was about to speak, but he still felt like doing it, anyway. "You want it? Grab it."

"But-" Sora began to argue, as he felt there was no feasible way for him to have it, why should he do so?

"Just do it." Roxas instructed him, not having much patience for the matter. Obediently doing as he said, Sora grabbed the kitten who started to purr in his hands. Watching it crawl up to his head, he laughed when it decided to stay up there. "If I was a person who bothered with concepts of 'destiny' and things along that line, I'd have to say- this was meant to happen." Letting out a sigh, Roxas began walking.

"I still don't think I'll be able to keep him." Sora pointed out, still unsure of why Roxas told him to grab the kitten.

" _I'll_ take him to _my_ apartment. But you have to make me a promise-" Cutting himself off until did something to affirm he _would_ promise Roxas, he waited.

Sora didn't hesitate for a moment. Nodding his head, he had no reason to refuse. "Anything."

"You have to come by and take care of him. I think we both know he already hates me, and I don't have the patience to try and bond with an animal that already has an opinion set in stone." Roxas factually knew he was doing this for a multitude of reasons, the first of which being Sora would be happy. The second was that this animal would take up a fair amount of his time. Third, he'd have little to no time to bother with this 'Vanitas' person. And number four: Glancing over at Sora, and watching how eternally happy he seemed to be with the kitten, Roxas just didn't have it in him to say 'no' and not allow him to have it. Maybe this is how Ventus felt when it came to Roxas over all these years of asking for things and getting them without any grief.

"I can do that! I promise, I will! No matter what, I'll come over every day!" Sora did his best to promise in a way that Roxas would believe him.

"I believe you." Roxas nodded. "Hang on." Stepping inside of a shop, he came out a few minutes later with all the basic necessities he believed the kitten would need. "Let's go." Walking a bit too close to Sora, the kitten once more hissed and attempted to paw him, so Roxas added more space between the pair. Narrowing his eyes at the kitten, it was lucky that it just so happened to fit the criteria for what he needed right now: a way to keep Sora away from that annoying boy.

"He'll come around...eventually." Sora spoke the words, though he wasn't quite sure if they'd actually come true or not- the kitten seemed adamant that Roxas keep a decent gap of distance between he and Sora.

Roxas shrugged. "I'm not offended, I factually don't care if it likes me, or not."

"How come?" Sora really wanted to know.

"Animals have _always_ treated me this way. I learned that they don't care for me, and like I said before, I'm not willing to put in the work for something that obviously hates me. It's waste of time and effort." Roxas never met an animal whose mind he ended up changing, so what was the point?

"Sometimes...they need more time to warm up to people. He's probably scared because he's with strangers." Sora tried to reason with Roxas, though he knew it wasn't likely to end in his favor. For him, it seemed like the kitten acted just like Roxas- 'cold' and lashed out, because it just didn't know how to properly express itself. If given the time, then it would probably warm up to the blonde just as Roxas had to him. Though at times Sora couldn't say for certain if Roxas factually liked him, moments like this made it seem like he definitely did.

"He likes you." Roxas stated the obvious, shrugging his shoulders. Finally arriving at his apartment, he unlocked the front door and held it open for Sora. Promptly shutting it behind Sora, he strode to his actual door and unlocked it, trying to hurry Sora along. Roxas had no idea on whether or not he'd have to pay a pet deposit for the kitten, and if so- that wouldn't be a problem. Plopping the items down on his table, he glanced over at Sora and the kitten. "Got a name for it?"

"Not that I can think of." Sora brought the kitten down from its position on his head and stared at the now mewing black kitten. Its hazel eyes stared back at him, equally curious. "What do you remind me of...?"

"It's dark, so why don't you try names aligned with 'darkness'?" Roxas thought of a few obvious ones that came to mind.

"Like what?" Sora cocked his head to the side, petting the kitten and staring at Roxas.

"Artemis. Nyx. Onyx. Nocturna." Roxas stated a few obvious ones that came to mind. Even if some of them were belonging to deities, he suspected that they wouldn't so much mind.

Making the kitten face him, Sora tested out the names, one by one. "Artemis?" The kitten's ears perked up and he stared blankly at Sora. "Nyx?" Glancing away from him, it didn't seem too fond of the name. "Onyx?" Cocking its head to the side, it didn't have much of a response to the name. "Nocturna?" Mewing curiously at him, it seemed all of the names had struck out. "Hmm. What about...coal?"

"Cole?" Roxas frowned a bit. Sora was giving it a humans name?

Sora nodded. "Coal is black, right? So maybe it'll suit him." Testing out his choice in name, Sora was happy that the kitten seemed to adore its new name.

"Oh. You mean 'coal' not 'Cole'." Roxas was surprised to have been mistaken. Taking out the litter box, he quickly filled it with the contents of the litter bag he'd purchased and went about picking a right spot for it. After a few moments, he decided to place it in a secure spot: his hallway closet. The bowls for his food/water would clearly go in the kitchen, as it was easily accessible and where Roxas could manage his meals. Grabbing the collar he'd bought, he tossed it to Sora.

"Do you like the name?" Sora asked, placing the red collar around the kitten's neck.

"He seems to like it, so I guess it's fine." Roxas gave his approval. "Just don't get bored of him and move on to the next kitten to come your way." Taking a jab at him, he felt like torturing Sora a bit.

Sora knew that was more of a reference toward Vanitas than himself, so he flinched a bit. "I-I won't..." Promising, he stood up and placed the kitten down, walking over to Roxas. "Like I said..." Staring into Roxas' eyes, he hoped that he believed him. "That wasn't my fault, and I hope that you believe me."

"Sora." Roxas firmly stated his name, frowning a bit. "If he _ever_ kisses you in front of me again, or tries to pull any of the stunts that he did in our English class- I'm going to break his nose." He wanted to make his intentions on the matter very clear. Vanitas had thrown down a challenge, and Roxas wasn't going to back down.

"Why would you have to go that far?" Sora was a bit puzzled. "You don't have to hurt him. What happened today won't happen again."

"You're right- it won't." Roxas was adamant on that fact. Why was he being so possessive, over Sora? Why did it piss him off so much to see another boy dare to do those things with Sora? With all of the people he'd ever met, he'd never had this amount of jealousy over any of them. And yet, this one individual seemed to have him doing things that he ordinarily wouldn't. For all intensive purposes, of course any person who was from the outside looking in would automatically say it was because Roxas adored/liked Sora. But Roxas was either in extreme denial, or he literally had no clue on what the dynamic between them was- this was an entirely new situation for him. He'd never had a 'boyfriend' or a boy he had physical contact with, until Sora.

Sora felt like it was a threat, and wasn't so sure if aimed at him or not. Though Roxas did come off as a bit 'scary', he didn't seem to be angry with Sora, so he assumed - rightly - that it had been meant for someone else. "I-I'll do my best!" All he could factually do was promise, but Sora had absolutely no idea who wanted to kiss him...it always came off as a surprise! And...everyone who seemed interested, was _male_.

Roxas scoff/laughed. Not to mock Sora's attempt at being bold, but at the prospect that he'd try to have a guard when his was so low all the time. "I'm serious, Sora- I'll break their nose, if they try it."

Sora would have argued, but he saw that Roxas was absolutely serious about the threat, and decided there was no point in him saying otherwise. He hated the idea of someone getting beaten up, especially for his sake. Shutting his eyes, he assumed that if Roxas wasn't looking directly at him, and vise-versa that he'd actually be able to speak up on how he felt. About to speak, he felt Roxas' hand on his cheek, and instantly his speech left him. Sora had an idea of what was to come, and he felt uneasy: accelerated heartbeat, slight heat on his face, knees shaking, palms sweating- the complete opposite of his encounter with Vanitas.

An eternity seemed to pass until Sora felt the meeting of their lips. On contact, Sora felt a chill making its way down his spine. His head felt 'cloudy' and Sora had no room left for useless thoughts of Vanitas/idle threats Roxas had for the male if he dared attempt what had been done today.

"Let's skip art." Roxas honestly wasn't even in the mood to go back to school. Besides, that _unpleasant_ boy was there.

"You want to miss art...?" Sora opened his eyes and stared up at Roxas. Missing English was one thing, as there was absolutely no possibility of them being able to get back into the classroom/do the work. But miss art? Namine was in there, and she made classes with her so much fun- he hated to not know what kind of new thing they'd be doing as well as not seeing whatever grande masterpiece she was producing this time around. He swore, if she was even half as talented as she was in art- he'd never take it for granted.

"What?" Roxas scoffed a bit. "You think we're going to miss some big assignment?"

"Well...no, but...Namine." Sora wasn't so sure that he'd like to miss art class.

Roxas shrugged his shoulders. "You _can_ go if you want to, Sora. But I'm staying here. And _you_ can stay with me, if you want to." Knowing fully well that Sora wouldn't want to abandon a friend, but would also like to stay in his apartment, especially with his new companion- Roxas left the decision entirely up to him. As he began to walk into the living room, he heard the words he'd been waiting for.

"I'll stay."

Smiling a bit to himself, Roxas factually felt a lot more at ease knowing that Sora wouldn't be playing victim to anymore nonsense/prospective love interests for the remainder of the day.

"You gonna stand there all day? Come on." Roxas waved him over, and after a moment of indecision, he sighed and walked to Sora, grabbed his hand and brought him into the living room. The kitten followed them eagerly, and jumped on Sora's lap, forcing Roxas to keep at least a cushion's distance on the couch. Narrowing his eyes at Coal, Roxas found him to be just as irritating as Vanitas- except he couldn't do anything about this annoyance. Sora was already attached to this one, and an excuse of 'he ran outside' or 'escaped' wouldn't cut it- the cat hated him, and Sora knew he cared little for the animal.

Watching Coal cuddle into Sora's lap, purring and eventually falling asleep, Sora seemed perfectly content in the moment. Deciding to try and inch his way over, the kitten instantly woke up and hissed/spat in Roxas' direction, making it very clear that the blonde wasn't going to be anywhere near his newfound master. Frowning, Roxas looked at Sora. "Did I mention that I hate this cat?"

Sora couldn't resist a small laugh. "I think you might've said something like that."


	10. Chapter 9: And it drove me wild

**Chapter 9: And it drove me wild  
**

Roxas honestly couldn't believe it. How was he supposed to? There was far too much unpleasantness surrounding him and anything 'good' always went South before he had a chance to properly handle things. But right now, in this moment, he was happy and felt relief. Hugging the other male, Roxas smiled once the gesture had ended up and he stepped back. "You're actually here."

"I am." Ventus smiled and nodded at Roxas, letting out a small laugh and scratching the back of his head. "It's been a long time little brother."

"Too long." Roxas readily agreed with him. "Aren't you going to come in?" Roxas asked, standing aside and giving Ventus room to move past him and place his things inside the apartment.

"I was waiting for an invitation." Ventus joked lightly, ruffling Roxas' messy blond hair on his way inside with his bag. His little brother had gotten taller in Ventus' absence. But he supposed that couldn't be helped what with their age difference and the fact that he'd gone to a higher form of education so periodical, sporadic visits like these were the best he could manage. And what with their parents wanting him to come by almost as much as Roxas, well, it was safe to say that Ventus' dance card was very full. In truth, he didn't so much mind his hectic schedule, as the pressure fueled his drive to complete every task currently in his way. Glancing over his shoulder at the stoic Roxas, Ventus had a question. "Where should I put this?" He asked, motioning to the bag as Roxas shut the front door.

"First door on the left. You can take my room." Roxas didn't mind sleeping out in the living room on the couch and giving up his bed to his brother. At least it would just be the two of them in the house without some tedious arrangement that'd leave them at the mercy of some 'I can't go into this area, because _ is sleeping' or whatever it may be. That was one of the reasons why Roxas didn't miss living near relatives- it was too annoying not being able to do anything and feel comfortable because it wasn't your home and therefore felt like you had to walk on eggshells.

"Are you sure?" Ventus asked, he didn't want to make Roxas do something he might not enjoy. To his knowledge there was a living area not too far off, and another room so the two of them could have their own privacy or merely share a sleeping space for the time being. There wouldn't be much of a big deal or end of the world if they shared a room, as they'd done it since childhood. Being the 'older [cousin, brother]' Ventus had just gotten accustomed to Roxas sleeping in his bed.

"Yeah. You can take it." Roxas didn't hesitate in the slightest. That is, until he heard the 'mew' of the kitten Sora and he had encountered a few days ago which was now living with him. The black kitten lovingly brushed against Ventus' shoes and the bottoms of his pant legs, the kitten furiously purring while seeking attention from the identical blond male. Anyone that managed to see the whole ordeal wouldn't have any factual clue as to why it hated Roxas yet loved someone who aside from height differences didn't appear to be another person. That is, if they were from the outside looking in and had no factual idea how polar opposite Roxas and Ventus could be.

"You got a cat!" Ventus was in awe of the kitten, carefully draping the strap of his bag down his arm and dropping it to the ground so as to not harm the kitten. Stooping down, he picked up the black male kitten and stroked his fur gently, chuckling at the constant purrs it gave him as in indication that it enjoyed his company.

"Not exactly." Roxas noticed the questioning look on Ventus' face and felt like he had to explain a few things. "Remember when I told you about that vulgar, stupid fu-" Stopping short when he saw Ventus frown at his obscenities to a black haired boy who would remain unnamed in the now, Roxas revised it a bit. "The short version is that he pissed me off, and Sora and I found the kitten on the day that we skipped school and I agreed to keep it." Averting his eyes, Roxas didn't want Ventus to spin it into some sort of 'you were jealous and did this as a bribe' dribble.

"Roxas. Were you jealous?" Ventus had to ask and momentarily stopped playing with the kitten so that he could interrogate his little brother further.

"Who's jealous?" Roxas scoffed, looking Ventus directly in the eyes. "Because that prick decided to kiss Sora in front of me? Talked down to me like he knew anything about me? Decided to be all 'buddy buddy' with Sora on his first day in school? Or the fact that I want to break his nose and show him exactly what a combination of Ba Ji Quan, Taekwondo and Karate could do to a person?" Roxas made sure to convey properly through his tone of voice that he was serious about wanting to beat up Vanitas.

Watching Roxas' fist shake by his side, Ventus was so surprised by his actions. He adopted a kitten for this boy, wanted to beat up another student on Sora's behalf and got this worked up over him? "Rpxas. how do you feel about Sora? You like him as more than just a 'friend', don't you? At the very least you could admit he's someone important to you. Important enough that you'd even go so far as to fight someone else for showing an interest in him." Ventus used the word 'interest' lightly as Roxas had said that Vanitas kissed him.

"I...I don't know." Roxas admitted. "And that's a _real_ answer. I don't know how to explain it, even if you ask me to." Sighing and running his hand through his hair, Roxas wished he could give a simple answer to Ventus, but all he could give was bogus one-liners. "He's slept over, Ven. He slept over that weekend, when our misunderstanding happened. I also let him borrow some of my clothes, taught him a bit of Taekwondo and Ba Ji Quan. That kitten? It's...I guess you could call it 'ours' but it's Sora's. We found it on our way home from school, and Sora said that he'd probably not be able to keep it, and the dumb look on his face made me want to get it for him. It hates me. I don't really care for it, at all. And Sora seems to like both of us and seems to be caught in the middle." Finding himself almost babbling, Roxas wished that Ventus would give him a keen insight on things. At the very least, spell things out clearly.

"You sound confused." Ventus registered that fact immediately. Whether or not this was Roxas' first 'big love' only time could tell. Objectively, he wondered if this would end up being a good situation for Roxas, he seemed to be compromising a few aspects of himself that he normally wouldn't for just about anyone, and maybe it would help him 'better himself' with others. "I wish there was something I could do to help you."

"You're going to be here for a while, and I don't need you to baby me." Roxas reminded him of the obvious. Though his first reaction was to brush off Ventus' thoughts with a cold remark, he was grateful for the concern his brother had for him. Even if Ventus knew what he _meant_ \- as opposed - to what he actually expressed, Roxas wished he was a better person. One who could say 'sorry' and not out of reflex and _actually_ mean it. People always thought of him as a cold individual because he'd been so bad at gratuities and apologies to the point of almost never saying them. Only those close to him factually knew what was meant to be said without being spoken aloud.

"Who said I want to 'baby' you? I just want to see what kind of boy has got your feathers ruffled. You said you wanted to beat a boy up over him, and it seems like you're really going out of your comfort zone for him, Roxas- and that's not necessarily a bad thing. He could be the best or worst thing for you. If he doesn't understand what's going on around him, and is like you believe him to be, then I think you're going to have to spell it out for him...otherwise, you're the one getting hurt. And I don't want to see you get invested into something that may or may not work out. This could be your first epic love...and I'd hate to see it not work out." The best that Ventus could do in this type of situation was tell Roxas his thoughts on things and hope he didn't somehow manage to offend his little brother in some form or other.

"It seems like you've put a lot of thought into this- more than I have." Roxas remarked, trying to play it off as a smaller issue than it truly was. "He just thinks he likes me- he doesn't even know me at all. It's naive to say you could know someone for such a short amount of time and develop feelings for them. Besides, he's dense, and like you said, I'd have to do a lot of spelling things out for him." Ignoring the term 'love' from Ventus, Roxas decided that glossing over it as opposed to acknowledging it would be best.

"If that were true- then why go through all of this effort? Think about it." Ventus said, smiling at Roxas as he entered the room his little brother said he could have for the time being. For all intensive purposes, he knew that at the very least Roxas had to know he was saying the truth.

"I don't know why. At first it was just fun intimidating him and watching the way that he'd react to the things that I did. Now? Things are a little more 'complicated' now and that's just the simplified version." How could someone rationalize the things he'd done to Sora? For him, it had been in a bid to keep him at arms length and even scare off the brunette boy who decided that they were to be friends. How was he supposed to know that Sora seemed to have homosexual tendencies/inclinations beneath it all? Not to mention the fact that attached to him was a behemoth of a silver haired ass who decided to play the 'mom' role?

"So you _bullied_ him?" Ventus raised a brow and folded his arms while leaning against the wall and staring down Roxas. His intention wasn't exactly to 'ball him out' so much as make Roxas feel some inclination of guilt.

"If you had a random person and his friends that you didn't want to bother with doing everything they could to invade your personal space and try to be 'friends' with you no matter how many times you clarified that you weren't interested and they just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, what would you do?" Roxas asked, frowning at Ventus and daring him to come up with a proper exit strategy/reaction to the situation he'd been put through.

"Politely tell them that I'm not interested in pursuing a friendship with them and thank them for their interest in me." Ventus said matter-of-factly.

"And if that didn't work?" Roxas countered him.

"Sternly tell them."

"And that?"

"Then I guess I'd just have to go in guns'-a-blazing and knock a few heads together then end up in detention and likely suspended, wouldn't I?" Ventus asked with a straight face and in a serious manner. Smiling at Roxas, he couldn't help the small laugh that escaped. "I'm not saying that you have to be a pacifist, Roxas- I'm saying you should pick and choose your battles. Does everything have to get physical?"

Roxas couldn't help joining in the laughter. Maybe he'd pushed a few buttons he shouldn't have. "It does when I'm dealing with idiots who get in my way." Roxas shrugged.

"Aren't there far too many 'idiots' who 'get in your way'?" Ventus asked.

"Usually? Yeah." Roxas honestly couldn't think of a day going by that he wasn't pissed off by some tedious idiot trying to start drama with him for some reason. People could generally always be irritating and he factually hated being around them for extended periods of time. Was it his fault? Not really. He did his best to steer clear of people. But somehow people always flocked around him.

Ventus would have said more, but Roxas was factually very stubborn and likely wouldn't give up the fact that he was 'right' on the matter and somehow everyone else was in the 'wrong'. "So what are we doing today? Hanging out with your friends... meeting your... _friend_ Sora?" Carefully choosing and emphasizing the word 'friend' when it came to Sora, Ventus was lightly hazing the younger blond. He didn't expect him to do something like blush or get frazzled but give his own 'Roxas' reaction to things.

Roxas narrowed his eyes a bit. "Why'd you say it like that?"

"I think we both know why I said it like that." Ventus smiled. About to rebuttal, Roxas was cut off by a knock at the door. Sending each other confused looks, Ventus wondered why Roxas didn't say anything to him. "Were you expecting someone?"

"I don't think so." Roxas shook his head.

"I'll get it." Ventus spoke up, striding over to the door. Since he was closest, it was honestly the least he could do. Opening the door, he felt the kitten move and laughed a bit as it climbed into his hair. Momentarily distracted, he forgot someone was waiting until he heard a noise and met eyes with the shorter stranger. "Hello." Ventus smiled kindly at the other male.

"Wow! He likes you now!" Sora said in awe, staring up at 'Roxas' and the kitten. Grinning ear to ear he grabbed Ventus' hands and excitedly stood in the doorway with the strangely acting blond. Ventus was staring down at him as if he and Sora were somehow perfect strangers and he couldn't exactly figure out why. Did he do something wrong?

"..." Ventus felt like there was a misunderstanding, but how was he to go about setting things straight? Glancing over at Roxas, he couldn't tell if he was enjoying or annoyed by the situation.

Seeing him avert his eyes, Sora let go of Ventus' hands and his smile faded away. "Did I... do something wrong?" Bowing his head, Sora felt awkward now. Maybe he should have called or something before coming over.

"No! You didn't do anything wrong!" Ventus held his hands up in surrender. Frantically trying to think of something to do, he decided to comfort the sad, shorter male by hugging him. Honestly he wasn't sure what else to do since he hardly if ever made someone upset and he'd never seen someone who was Roxas' age get this visibly upset. Talk about bad first impressions- this _wasn't_ the way he intended to meet Roxas' _not_ -boyfriend Sora. He'd get to know more about the boy he'd heard very one-sided views about and get the other half of the story from the person who seemed to be just about as if not more stubborn than his little brother. Honestly, Ventus never thought he'd hear of someone forcing Roxas to be friends with them let alone the fact that Roxas had a keen interest in this person too. But seeing as the circumstances were as they had been they'd just have to make the best of a bad situation.

"You mean it?" Sora asked, surprised that he'd been hugged.

"Yeah." Ventus nodded, relieved that Sora now seemed to be fine.

"I was worried for a second that you might be mad at me." Sora admitted. "I'm glad that you're not."

"I don't see why _he_ would be mad at you." Roxas spoke up, startling Sora. Despite his amusement on the misunderstandings between both Ventus/Sora he wouldn't let him off the hook easily. Having his arms folded and frowning at the pair, he wondered how terrified the brunette must have been by now.

"W-wh- huh?" Sora asked, confused as he stared from Roxas to Ventus and vice versa. They looked almost identical and sounded very similar. Looking at Ventus he saw that his outfit was definitely a 'lighter' variant that wasn't quite as gloomy as Roxas' could be. As far as he could tell that was about the only difference he could find between the pair of them. Well, that and the fact that Ventus was smiling as opposed to Roxas' frown.

"Sora, Ventus. Ventus, Sora." Roxas introduced the pair, leaning against the wall and staring at the embarrassing way both of them had met. Though he hadn't initially wanted the two of them to meet under such _interesting_ circumstances, Roxas evidently had no choice. Oh well. At least that was out of the way.

"It's so nice to meet you!" Ventus smiled at Sora, though he felt like the two of them had already progressed beyond such things. Although the initial meeting was semi-awkward, Ventus had to say it was nice to meet this mystery friend of Roxas' he'd heard so much about.

"Y-you too!" Sora readily agreed, smiling up at Ventus as he scratched the back of his head. Feeling his cheeks get hot, he'd honestly never felt so embarrassed.

Ventus was surprised by the reaction he'd received from Sora. He seemed like the type who wasn't afraid to show exactly what he was feeling. Honest people like him were hard to come by. Honestly, it wasn't hard to wonder why Roxas liked him- he was cute. A little unnerved by his own thoughts on Sora, Ventus averted his eyes and scratched the back of his head, feeling a slight warmth on his cheeks as well. "Yeah..." He agreed, holding his smile that turned into more of a grin.

Alright, things had gotten a little too... _homoerotic_ for Roxas' liking. Since when did Ventus get all weird around guys, anyway? To his knowledge Ventus wasn't gay. Maybe Sora had that effect on people? There was no way that he'd have to explain to their parents that one of his classmates had turned his older brother gay. Besides, wasn't Ventus on a mission to meddle in what he assumed to be a relationship between Roxas/Sora? Walking over to the pair, he grabbed Sora's hand and dragged him off to the living room. Frowning the entire way, he gently placed - forced - Sora to sit on the couch. Sitting directly beside him, he honestly hated getting so worked up. How could he manage to be so petty over other boys around Sora, even Ventus? "Why'd you come over?" Although he didn't mean to ask in a rude/harsh tone of voice, he managed to do just that.

"I uh, I wanted to come by and see you." Sora admitted, still a little uneasy from the way Roxas was acting. He'd been fine one moment and now he seemed to be angry for some unknown reason. Maybe now was a bad time to come by. Sitting on the very edge of the cushion, Sora fidgeted with his hands and pondered whether or not he should say that he'd come back at some undetermined time. He didn't exactly want to be in the line of fire when it came to Roxas, and wasn't sure if such a thing could set him off.

"Could've done with a little better timing." Roxas pointedly stated the obvious. Feeling Ventus' gaze on him, he looked up and saw him staring at the duo. Averting his eyes, Roxas knew very well that he'd been 'harsh' toward Sora- he didn't need to get the third degree from Ventus as well.

"I'll go." Sora stood up and was honestly grateful Roxas had given him an 'out'. It felt awkward. Though he felt like sprinting before the offer was taken away, Sora stopped dead in his tracks when he came face-to-face with Ventus. "It was really nice to meet you!"

"You too!" Ventus couldn't help smiling when Sora sent one his way.

"I'll, uh... I'll see you later!" Sora said, waving as he strode to the door.

Ventus stared after Sora for a moment then turned his attentions over to Roxas. "What are you waiting for?" He asked, frowning at Roxas.

"What?" Roxas asked, unfamiliar with Ventus' heated gaze on him. Usually it was the other way around and since Ven was such a pushover he'd honestly just go along with whatever Roxas wanted so it'd stop.

"Go after him." Ventus was a little surprised he had to spell things out for Roxas. He'd honestly been so rude to Sora for reasons unknown to Ventus.

"He said he'll come back later." Roxas didn't know why Ventus was trying to push for him to follow Sora.

"Either you go after him or I will." Ventus said what he thought would be enough incentive for Roxas to get up and chase after Sora. Even though they'd met under such strange circumstances, Ventus factually liked Sora from the short amount of time they'd spent together and wouldn't mind being in his company for a while longer.

"Go ahead." Roxas brushed him off, still annoyed from earlier events to follow after Sora.

"Fine." Ventus wouldn't argue with him anymore. Roxas was too stubborn and wouldn't let up no matter what he did anyway. Going to the front landing, Ventus grabbed his shoes and hurriedly slipped them on then headed out the door. Glancing around in both directions, he figured Sora didn't have much of a lead on him and at the very least there was a 50% chance he'd run into the brunette somewhere along the way. The only problem he had was Ventus didn't know if he should go left or right. Maybe he should have asked where Sora lived. That would have been smart. Looking to the left, he shook his head. He might have had a lead, but it wasn't so much that he'd be completely out of sight. Opting to go to the right, Ventus just started running and hoped he'd find him.

Going through a small forest-like path, Ventus eventually stumbled upon Sora who seemed to have been running himself. "Hey!" Ventus said in-between catching his breaths. He honestly hoped that he hadn't spooked Sora into thinking some wild animal or strange person was coming to get him. Obviously that had been the opposite of his intentions, but Sora didn't seem spooked. Maybe a little bit 'startled' but not exactly afraid.

"Roxas...?" Sora asked, looking up and staring at Ventus while wearing a puzzled expression. His tone of voice made it seem like he was a bit hopeful this blond boy was in fact Roxas even though he figured the chances of him factually chasing after him were slim to none at this point. Roxas seemed a bit 'irritated' today and Sora couldn't really tell why. Hadn't he been excited that Ventus was coming?

"No. Sorry." Ventus shook his head, offering an apologetic expression to Sora. "I tried to get him to come after you but he refused. He can be... _difficult_ at times and most people just think he's being a 'jerk'." He didn't know why per se he was trying to explain things to Sora. He'd met Roxas and still somehow formed some sort of relationship with him that wasn't exactly 'friends' but didn't seem like 'lovers' either. Maybe they were somewhere in between. In either case he didn't think that Roxas could properly be involved with someone until he got rid of that selfishness he'd always had.

"I don't think he's a jerk- I just... sometimes he can get irritated is all." Sora readily defended Roxas from being labeled anything bad.

Ventus smiled. "He's lucky to have found someone like you."

"Like me?" Sora asked, scratching the back of his head and smiling at Ventus. "I don't think he's lucky at all... I think I'm the lucky one for having met him!" Sora tried to not sound as excited as he did, but it was hard not to. "Ever since I met him I've been doing really fun, interesting things! Roxas is also really smart and he helps me in all of my classes... he's even helped me to understand math and get a good grade! He's shown me a whole new world and... and..." Stumbling to find more things about him to rave about to his older brother. Though he was rambling and readily trying to defend Roxas, Sora knew that Ventus likely already knew all of this.

Ventus was pleasantly surprised at that statement. "You really like him Sora, don't you?" He asked, watching as Sora immediately stopped dead in his tracks and the slightest blush crept across his face. _Bingo._ At the very least he now knew that Sora reciprocated Roxas' feelings. And he could freely give both of them gentle 'pushes' in the right direction.

"Uh... yeah." Sora nodded. "He's a great friend."

"Is that all he is to you?" Ventus asked, continuing to walk along the path with Sora.

Sora was surprised by his statement. "I, uh..." Sora was honestly stumbling to find him a proper answer. It was hard to be put on the spot like that.

"You don't have to answer- I'm just being nosy." Ventus explained, smiling at Sora. "I'm glad that the two of you could be friends. Roxas, he- he's had a hard life. The things that he's gone through can make him a little 'difficult' at times, and most people just brush it off as him being rude. You're the first person I've heard him talk about in a long time. I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you." A little unsure of how many details he'd recounted to Sora and what he was factually comfortable with Ventus sharing he'd just try to explain things a little bit.

"Really?" Sora asked, a little uneasy at being given a gratuity on someone's behalf. Was it really that big of a deal that he and Roxas were friends? "I uh, do you maybe want to go hang out somewhere?" A little unsure of how long Ventus wanted to hang around with him, Sora wondered if he wouldn't mind at the very least having a little fun together.

"Sure." Ventus was glad that he'd at least have the chance to get to know him a little better. "I haven't been in town before so you'll have to lead the way." From what he'd seen it appeared to be a relatively nice place to live.

"In that case, do you mind if we meet up with a few friends?" Sora wasn't sure on whether or not Ventus had accounted for just the two of them hanging out together or wanted to meet up with other people.

"The more the merrier!" Ventus smiled, glad to know that Sora wanted other people to join in. "I'd like to meet some of your and Roxas' friends!" Watching the reaction he received from Sora, Ventus guessed that Roxas factually didn't have much or any friends at all. He figured as much but decided to give it a shot to find out whether or not his little brother was getting along with people.

"A-about that..." Sora spoke up, shuffling his feet and fidgeting his fingers while avoiding eye contact with Ventus. "He-"

"Doesn't have any?" Ventus interrupted him since he saw how much of a hard time Sora was having trying to come clean to Ventus. "That's okay. I'd still like to meet your friends! I'm sure he's met them as well so I'd like to see them."

"Okay!" Sora nodded enthusiastically to Ventus. He was glad that he seemed to be easily got along with. No wonder Roxas liked him. "Do you like ice-cream?"

"I do." Ventus nodded, smiling and seeing where this was going. So he liked sweets? From his build you wouldn't have guessed.

"Great! Then I know just where to go! Come on!" Sora grabbed Ventus' hand and began leading him to downtown where he knew they could get ice-cream together. Roxas had never had sea-salt ice-cream before and so Sora figured that Ventus had also been denied the tasty treat.

Ventus was in awe at how straight forward Sora could be with someone. Especially a person he'd just met. He honestly could see why Roxas had an interest in this person. Smiling as the scenery passed both of them by and they eventually ended up at the ice-cream store, Ventus was already enjoying himself without having done much.

"Here we are!" Sora smiled as he spoke up, breaking Ventus' thoughts.

"Y-yeah." Ventus nodded, looking around the shopping district both of them had arrived at. "Ice-cream, right?" He asked, trying to remember what the two of them were doing.

"Yep! You gotta try sea-salt ice-cream! It's really good!" Sora really wanted to see that moment when Ventus tried it out like Roxas had. Would they have the same reaction?

"Okay." Ventus nodded, both of them looking to the vendor. "Sea-salt ice-cream."

"Make that two!" Sora piped up after him, taking out his wallet.

"No need. I'll get it." Ventus paid for the popsicles as they were held out to the boys.

"Thank you." Sora said to the vendor and to Ventus.

"No problem." Ventus stared at his light blue tinted treat with wonder and flashed Sora a quick smile. "Any idea where your friends are?"

"They should be somewhere around here. Wanna sit down?" Sora asked, pointing at a nearby bench.

"Sure." Ventus nodded, walked with Sora hand-in-hand as either boy barely acknowledged the fact that they were still holding hands. Glancing down at the treat once more, he decided to see what was so special about this sea-salt ice-cream. Bringing it to his lips, he tested out a small lick. "Wow!" Surprise made its way across his face as Ventus had to admit that it was just about the best thing he'd ever had. "You were right- this is amazing!" Although he wanted to savor the treat, Ventus found a hard time being able to do so as he was taking bites out of the the way that Ventus was devouring his ice-cream, Sora couldn't help the grin and the laughter that escaped. Barely able to eat his sea-salt ice-cream, small droplets of the popsicle dripped their way down his hand.

Ventus shot Sora a questioning look and the brunette spoke up. "You ate it just like Roxas did his first time!" Sora explained.

"Oh." Ventus couldn't help laughing with him. "He really enjoyed it, huh?"

Sora nodded his head. "Yeah, he did."

"I can't really blame him. These things are good. But they don't last long." Ventus said, just as he'd finished his while Sora barely started eating his.

"He also finished way before me." Sora let out a small chuckle. "How about we share?" Taking a lick, Sora offered it over to Ventus.

"Are you sure?" Ventus asked, wanting to make double sure that Sora was willing to part with something so delicious and share it with someone else.

"Yep!" Sora didn't hesitate at all.

"Well, alright." Ventus took him up on the offer and shared the dessert with Sora. A little ashamed at his lack of self-control, Ventus was glad that Sora opted to share with him when he ran out of his. Glancing over at Sora, he could see that he was enjoying himself and Ventus was happy that he'd probably gotten over the encounter he'd had with Roxas. It was very clear to him that his little brother needed him- these two would likely never get together if he kept treating him the way that he did.

"It seems that we've run out." Sora said, almost disappointed when it was all gone.

"It seems so." Ventus agreed, the duo smiling at one another. "So, what now?"

"I'm not really sure." Sora admitted, trying to think of something the two of them could do together.

"You two seem to be getting along well." Namine commented with a smile as she approached the duo, smiling at Sora then Ventus whom she believed to be Roxas. Staring down at their still joined hands, she figured that they'd gotten particularly close.

"I'm glad that you're having fun!" Kairi piped up after her, smiling at Sora and Ventus. 'Roxas' appeared to be happy for some reason. Were the two of them on a date?

Riku grunted and nodded to Sora but glared at Ventus whom he mistook for Roxas.

"Hey guys!" Sora was glad they'd showed up in the nick of time.

"Hello!" Ventus chimed in after him. "You're Sora's friends, right?" He asked, though it was a relatively obvious and redundant question, Ventus was just a little excited to meet them.

"Huh? You don't remember us?" Namine asked, confused as she pointed from herself to Kairi to Riku. Was he being forgetful or just rude to the trio?

"I'm not buying it." Riku scoffed. Still glaring at Ventus, he glanced down at their hands and got even more annoyed.

"Guys, he-" Sora piped up but Ventus shook his head.

"It's okay. They just think I'm someone else is all." Ventus followed Riku's gaze and let go of Sora's hand. The two of them were still holding hands? How embarrassing. Standing up, he smiled at the trio. "I'm Ventus- Roxas' brother! It's so nice to meet you all." Introducing himself he held out his hand to each of Sora's respective friends. Kairi and Namine easily accepted the offer but Riku still seemed to have trouble buying it.

"Nice to meet you!" Kairi spoke up.

"Lovely to meet you." Namine agreed with a smile.

"It's true!" Sora vouched for Ventus and stood up beside his new friend. "He's Roxas' brother in town and visiting!" Protesting Riku's angry look and rude treatment of Ventus, he really wanted his friend to give him a fair chance. Well, that and to stop being rude to Roxas and the two of them to quit fighting but for now he'd settle for treating Ventus nicely.

"If you say so." Riku spoke up, knowing fully well that Sora didn't lie. Although some of his behaviors had come to change since meeting Roxas, he hadn't noticed anything quite as drastic to think his friend would be trying to deceive him. "Are you twins?" Riku felt inclined to ask since he was looking at what appeared to be Roxas' doppelganger.

"Uh, no, actually. It's kind of a funny story." Ventus laughed a bit while scratching the back of his head. "Our fathers were twins so that's why Roxas and I look identical at first glance. I guess you'd have to know us to tell the difference, but for the most part we do dress differently." While Roxas might have preferred darker, gloomy colors, Ventus preferred lighter tones and typically sweaters that didn't have hoods to hide from others.

"So you have different dads then?" Namine asked, trying to keep up with Ventus' story.

Ventus nodded to her question. "And different moms. Technically we're 'cousins' but we've always been really close. More like siblings than cousins, really." He didn't really feel it was his place to mention the accident that happened during Roxas' adolescence to people he'd just met, but Sora seemed to clue in more than the others. Had Roxas told him about what happened?

"It sounds like the two of you were lucky to have each other." Kairi spoke up, smiling at Ventus. Was he the older one? He seemed to be relatively more outgoing and friendly than Roxas but she supposed some people were just different that way.

"Yeah we definitely were." Ventus felt old bitter memories attempting to come to the surface but for the moment was able to keep them at bay. "Hey, how about we go off and do something fun together? Sora and I were just waiting for you three to arrive when he introduced me to sea-salt ice-cream."

"Really?" Kairi and Namine asked in tandem, astounded that someone had managed to never have the popular treat before. Ventus nodded to their reaction, finding it funny that Sora had reacted in the same manner.

"Roxas hadn't had it either until I showed it to him." Sora piped up, wondering what they were all going to do.

"Was this before or after you were locked up in your room for a day?" Riku still wouldn't let up on the fact that he disliked Roxas. The two of them had been feuding for a good while already and he honestly wasn't going to end up giving in before that blond brat.

Flinching at the question, Sora had completely forgotten about those bitter memories until Riku had brought up the subject. Namine, Kairi and Ventus all took notice of Sora's reaction. "Hey, I heard there's an amusement park around here somewhere. How about we all go there?" Changing the subject, Ventus hoped it would offer some reprieve.

"Yeah, let's go!" Namine spoke up before the others could and began leading the group toward the amusement park. Flashing a worried look at Sora then to Kairi, both girls wondered what they could do to make him feel better.

"Do you think he's fighting with Roxas? Riku also seems to be a little bit grumpy with him." Kairi whispered to Namine, trying her best to be quiet so that the three boys wouldn't manage to hear them.

"It's definitely a possibility. But I thought Riku and Sora had resolved their issues?" Namine asked, slightly confused.

"I guess it's since Ventus looks like a certain _someone_ that it sparked up old feelings." Kairi tried to rationalize the way that Riku was acting.

"Hopefully this doesn't end in a fight." Namine sighed, hoping that they could just learn to get along. It didn't seem like Roxas was going anywhere and Riku would have to get used to that fact.

Ventus couldn't help but to overhear their conversation even though both girls were doing their best to hide it to spare the feelings of both boys. It seemed that Riku/Roxas had more than just a simple 'dislike' for one another. "Any ideas on what we should do first?" Trying to cheer up Sora and talk over the girls to give them a little more privacy, he looked to the brunette for any ideas he might currently have.

Thinking it over for a few moments, Sora perked up and pointed at the ferris wheel as they finally caught sight of the amusement park. "How about there?" He asked, waiting for any reactions from anyone, though more specifically from Ventus.

"Sure! It looks like fun!" Ventus was glad he didn't have a fear of heights otherwise he'd be torn between his phobia and pleasing his new friend. "How about we race?"

"You're on!" Sora grinned, gleefully accepting the request.

Sora and Ventus easily surpassed the rest of the group and sped off toward the park. Head-to-head in their race, Ventus and Sora were both enjoying themselves as their goal hastily came into view. Slowing himself down a bit, Ventus let Sora get the lead out of habit from competing with Roxas. Arriving at the ticket booth a second behind him, he smiled as he took second place. "You beat me."

"You let me win, didn't you?" Sora had picked up on the fact that Ventus suddenly began to slow down just before they had made it to the ticket booth.

"That obvious, huh?" Ventus asked, smiling and scratching the back of his head. "Roxas can be a little... _competitive_ as you likely know, and I've learned it's better to just let him win when we're in competitions together."

"He gets mad if he loses, huh?" Sora asked, letting out a small, understanding laugh of nervousness. He made a mental note of the fact that he had to let Roxas win when they were in competition. "I don't mind losing- so long as we can all have fun together what else matters?"

"I'm not sure much else." Ventus agreed with him, glad that Sora was such a good sport. Getting in line for tickets, the two of them waited patiently for his friends to catch up and to finally progress to the point that they could buy. Several minutes later they were joined by Kairi, Namine and Riku. The girls seemed short of breath but Riku had slowed down his pace to the point that they could relatively stick together.

"Hey guys!" Sora smiled happily at the trio.

"You couldn't have waited?" Riku asked, though he was glad his friend had so much fun with Ventus to the point that he seemed really chipper like he usually was as opposed to how gloomy Roxas could make him feel.

"I uh, I kinda got a little carried away... sorry." Sora scratched the back of his head and offered an apologetic smile to his friend.

"It's fine." Riku shrugged his shoulders, smiling at Sora. Though he liked to give him a hard time he was glad to see that his friend was doing well.

"You guys are fast." Kairi commented, still trying to catch her breaths.

"I... this... is why... I don't do gym..." Namine panted, arms on her thighs as she leaned forward and tried to steady her breaths. It wasn't really much of an exaggeration to say she didn't have an athletic bone in her body.

"Sorry about that!" Ventus smiled and laughed a bit. Maybe they'd both gotten carried away in their competition. Progressing to the front of the line, Ventus bought a bundle of tickets and handing off equal amounts to everyone. He figured since he'd intruded on their plans and was hanging arounf these people for the first time he may as well pay for the evening.

"Thanks." Each of them showed Ventus their own form of gratuity for the tickets and the group progressed onward.

"Ferris wheel, right?" Ventus asked, making double sure Sora wanted to go on the ride.

"Yep!" Sora eagerly bobbed his head up and down.

"Alright." Ventus and the others got in line and waited their turn to enter the cars of the ferris wheel. He thought it a little peculiar that they weren't just the usual benches but appeared to be booths for a more privatized experience. Maybe it was something more practical for when the weather decided to not cooperate and people still wanted to ride the rides. Finally their turn, Sora and Ventus were allowed into one car while Kairi, Namine and Riku had to ride behind them in the next one. Sitting opposite each other in the car, Sora and Ventus stared at one another and waited for one to do something that would invite the other to talk. After a few moments of awkward silence, Ventus had finally had enough and decided to do something about it.

Making a 'silly' face, Ventus crossed his eyes and used his fingers to morph his mouth in a way he thought would look funny.

Sora snorted at the display before him and couldn't help but to laugh. "What are you doing?"

"Things seemed a little too 'serious' in here." Ventus explained, making his face go back to normal. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Sora smiled softly at Ventus. "It was funny. I just didn't know why you were doing that." Trying to clarify as best he could so that Ventus wouldn't feel out of place or as if he should be awkward because of Sora's comments.

"I don't like it when there's tension in the air- I find that you can dissolve it by doing things that people don't expect." Ventus explained his strategy to Sora, glad that he could clarify a bit.

"It definitely works." Sora couldn't argue with that fact. "Hey- You don't know why Roxas was grumpy, do you?" He honestly hoped that Ventus didn't mind his asking as Sora honestly had no idea what had set him off currently. Maybe it was the fact that he'd come over without checking first with Roxas. But to be fair he'd technically been given an invitation as Roxas did say he could visit anytime especially if it was concerning the kitty.

"I honestly have no idea. He was fine one moment and then cranky the next. I wanted him to go and get you and apologize or do something that proved he thinks of you as a person and not an annoyance he has to deal with." Lightly scoffing to himself, he drifted off into a small sigh. "I'm glad he has someone like you. You seem like a good friend to have. I'm a little jealous."

"I can be your friend too!" Used to being a people pleaser, Sora had absolutely no qualms about offering his friendship to Ventus, especially due to the fact that he already liked and thought of him as a friend. It wasn't hard to see why Roxas liked him- he was a good person.

"I'd like that." Ventus smiled softly.

Sora smiled in return. Waiting out the rest of the ride in comfortable silence, the blond and brunette promptly got off the carriage.

"Roxas!" Excited at seeing his other blond companion Sora eagerly pointed out the fact that he'd seen him.

"I thought you were 'going after him' not taking him out on a date." Roxas disapprovingly grumbled at his older brother while the pair of them walked behind Sora in tandem.

"I thought you didn't care." Ventus retorted, smiling at Roxas.

"You were gone for a while so I decided to find out what was taking so long." Shrugging his shoulders, Roxas downplayed the situation.

"Yet you knew exactly where we were." Musing aloud to himself, Ventus glanced over at Roxas. "For someone who claims to not care you have a hard time acting like it."

"I was tipped off." Roxas didn't like where Ventus had been going with his accusations- he was trying make him admit that he cared. Of course he did but that didn't mean he had to admit it out loud to anyone who'd listen. It just wasn't the way he was programmed. At one point in time, sure, he would have been glad to tell people exactly how much they meant to him and be glad that they could be honest with one another. But that wasn't him anymore.

Following Roxas' gaze to Namine, Ventus smiled. "And you were concerned for Sora and wanted to check up on him."

"..." Roxas averted his eyes and scoffed. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you _like_ him." Ventus stated the obvious as he closed the little space between them and whispered his answer to Roxas.

"Why do you keep pushing so hard on this?" Roxas frowned as he looked over at Ventus.

"You're too stubborn to do anything about it." Ventus stopped walking and glanced over at Sora and the others who'd gone over to a stuffed animal booth. It appeared to be one of those booths you'd pay at in order to get darts to pop the balloons and get a prize. "Why don't you just try going out with him? He seems to like you- he couldn't even stop thinking and talking about you while we were on the ferris wheel, even on the way here. You probably think that because he likes you it's a given that he'll want to spend time with you and no matter how cold you act he'll always comeback. And while that might be true for right now... what happens when he moves on to someone else? Sora's a nice person but there's no guarantee he'll hold out forever." Giving him a bit of the third degree, Ventus wanted Roxas to know how childish he was being about things. Keeping someone at arms length and doing things that made them seem like 'more than friends' while treating Sora the way he was- it was just unacceptable.

"I know that." Roxas stared at Sora and watched him smile while interacting with Riku, Kairi and Namine. He seemed really happy- the opposite of how he often left their encounters. "But there's no guarantee that if we start dating he'll like what he sees. I'm a 'difficult' person, Ven- and I keep messing things up. I have a hard time apologizing to people and showing gratitude to others, so how could I be with someone like him and he not end up bored of me and the fact that we're total opposites?" Looking to his older brother for some sort of answer, Roxas really wanted Ventus to spell things out for him.

"That's the trouble of liking someone; you'll never know if they'll like you back for who you are. So you've gotta ask yourself- are you ready to take the risk?" Ventus was doing his best to give him a push in the right direction. Smiling at Roxas, he supposed that was about the best that he could do. He couldn't tell Roxas whether or not he should be with Sora, though he was giddy at the prospect of him finally having a boyfriend and had an interest of helping him get together with the adorable little brunette he'd met a few hours prior.

Roxas listened to everything he had to say and thought over the words. Glancing over at Sora and observing him with the others Roxas left his brother behind. Riku was being cheered on by the girls and Sora all for a chance to win a stuffed Chocobo toy. Despite his usual nature of being the paragon for things Sora usually lacked, it seemed that Riku very much had a faulty accuracy when he missed an earned a cumulative 'aw' from the trio. Scoffing at his failure, Roxas knew he could easily win it without much of a struggle. Sora, Kairi and Riku moved on elsewhere and Roxas supposed he'd take the opportunity to show up Sora's annoying friend at any chance he could. Approaching the booth, he placed a dollar bill on the counter and expertly tossed his darts with precision to pop the amount required for a stuffed animal Sora had apparently been wanting. Asking the clerk for the Chocobo figure, Roxas gently held onto the stuffed animal as it wouldn't be in his grasp for long.

"Roxas?" Sora asked, a little confused as the blond boy came up to him with a Chocobo stuffed animal. "When did you go to the balloon popping booth?" Taking the offered Chocobo plush, he smiled at Roxas.

"When I saw your behemoth friend fail miserably to get what you wanted." Roxas shrugged, downplaying the situation. "You wanted that one, right?"

"But Riku wasn't trying to win for me- he was trying for Kairi." Sora explained with a small laugh. "She really wanted one."

"You... didn't want that?" Roxas asked, feeling embarrassed that he'd gone to such lengths to trump Riku he'd overlooked the fact that Sora may or may not have wanted the item in question.

"I like it!" Sora spoke up, hoping that Roxas didn't feel bad or like he'd done something unnecessary. "Thank you for getting it for me! I'll treasure it always!"

Roxas couldn't help the small smile that spread across his face at Sora's words. "You're... really sly, Sora." Letting out a small chuckle, he shook his head. He did so much to not hurt peoples feelings and make them feel relaxed because he was a kindhearted, good person.

"Sly?" Sora asked, a little confused on what Roxas meant. About to answer, Roxas had been cut off by the bang of fireworks and Sora looked to the sky in awe. "We should go join the others!" Grabbing Roxas' hand, he began leading him over to Ventus, Kairi, Namine and Riku.

"Hang on a second." Roxas stopped him once they were a fair distance from the rest of the group.

"Something on your mind?" Sora asked, puzzled as he tilted his head to the side and waited for an explanation from Roxas. The loud bangs from the fireworks continued to erupt through the night sky and covered the pair of them in a constantly shifting palette of colors.

"Yeah." Roxas nodded. Staring into Sora's eyes, he seemed to be expectantly waiting for Roxas to say or do something and the blond decided to act on the opening he was given.

"Look! A Chocobo!" Sora excitedly called out, looking up at the sky and grinning at the yellow hued fireworks that had just gone off.

Roxas didn't bother looking up at the fireworks, he had something else on his mind. Stepping closer to Sora, Roxas leaned down and placed his hand on the side of Sora's face as he closed the distance with the brunette and stole a kiss from the oblivious other male. After a moment or two Roxas pulled back just enough that their foreheads met. "You still want to date me, right?"

"Y-you want to be my boyfriend?" Sora asked, seemingly confused at first.

"That's what I was asking, yeah." Roxas nodded. He didn't really expect Sora to ask him a question after his. Wouldn't people in these situations usually just say 'yes' or 'no' and not need reassurance? Had it been a shock of some sort? Obviously. It wasn't as if he'd given any indication that he was going to ask Sora out on a date. Especially with the way that he'd acted earlier.

"Really!?" Sora asked.

Roxas nodded.

"Really, really!?" Sora just wanted confirmation.

Clamping his hand over Sora's mouth, Roxas glanced over at the others to see if they'd heard his outburst. To his relief, it seemed that the fireworks had done a good job muffling Sora. "You can't be yelling stuff out loud, alright? If I move my hand will you be quiet?" Sora nodded to Roxas who couldn't figure out whether or not that meant 'yes' to the first part, the second or both. Going with his gut instinct, Roxas removed his hand and stared at Sora who appeared to be grinning at him.

"Hang on. Does this count as our first date?" Sora asked, confused on whether or not the occasion could be considered the real deal or not.

"You know, that's a good question." Roxas thought about it. "I don't think so." He shook his head. "There's too many 'chaperones' and a certain busybody with us. I think a 'date' should be private. But I don't think there's anywhere the two of us can be alone with Ventus here, Kairi, Namine and _that_ one over there. He wanted to meet your friends and I guess there won't be many opportunities to be alone at home or school."

"That's okay! I like your brother! He's really fun to be around!" Sora ecstatically released enthusiasm at the mention of Ventus.

Roxas frowned. "Which reminds me- you let boys touch you too easily."

"It's not on purpose!" Sora protested. "I just get surprised is all. I don't even really notice it half the time." Thinking it over, he supposed that people did just flock to him and do things that would cause others to get the wrong idea.

"You let that boy kiss you."

"I didn't know he was going to do that! He saw that you were mad at me and I was kinda scared and he thought he was helping..." Sora scratched the back of his head and tried to explain himself properly.

"You held hands with Ventus and shared a popsicle with him." Roxas factually didn't get how Sora didn't think that situation was inappropriate. "The two of you really don't know proper boundaries. It looked like every perverts dream."

"But he really liked the sea-salt ice-cream! And I wanted to share with him and... wait." Sora finally clued in to things. "You weren't there, so how did you know that?" Flipping the question on Roxas, the pressure was now on the blond to explain himself.

"I came looking for you. You and Ven seemed like you were enjoying yourselves and I didn't want to cut in..." Roxas looked away from Sora. "You seem to enjoy yourself more with others than me so I thought it was 'nicer' of me to stay behind. Then the two of you started acting like a couple on a date." Frowning, he met the eyes of Sora. "Don't cheat on me."

Call him crazy, but was Roxas jealous? "I won't." Sora promised, smiling at Roxas though the situation had taken a very serious turn of events.

"I mean it. I'll break the nose of whoever tries anything on you." Roxas had no problem letting Sora know that he wouldn't put up with boys like that Vanitas kid now that they were dating.

"I'd prefer that you didn't... But I guess you'll do whatever you think is right." Sora said, a little uneasy at the thought of someone getting hurt over him. He had absolutely no intentions of cheating or what Roxas would constitute as 'cheating'.

"Think about how you'd feel if another boy or girl came along and tried to kiss me or do things like the two of us have been. Wouldn't you be mad?" Roxas tried to phrase things as simple as he could for Sora. He highly doubted such a situation ever arising but wanted to bring up a decent example for Sora to think about.

Sora thought about the question as hard as he could but didn't think it'd make him angry. "I think I'd be sad." Speaking honestly, Sora figured he'd be hurt by that situation more so than angry.

"You're something else." Roxas let out a small scoff. "It'd drive me crazy to see something like that... It _did_ drive me crazy. I mean you saw the way I acted after that black haired cat eyed jerk kissed you, right?" How could he not? It would have been impossible for him not to. Honestly if things kept going the way they were with Vanitas Roxas was more than likely going to end up suspended from school.

Sora nodded. "I'm sorry about that." Every time Roxas brought it up Sora instinctively felt guilty even though it wasn't his fault.

"Don't be sorry." Roxas shook his head. "That was out of your control. Besides, I'll deal with him... somehow." Although he couldn't think of anything in particular for Sora's annoying doppelganger he'd work on a plan at some point.

Sora honestly wished he didn't feel like he had to retaliate or be rude to his newfound friend, but arguing wouldn't have done anything. He just wanted to enjoy the moment and ride out the rest of his excitement toward having his first relationship that wasn't just friends with a person. Well, not only that as he'd also have his first ever date to look forward to. Gently taking Roxas' hand in his, Sora smiled. "Look! How pretty!" His eyes glittered as he watched yet another firework display cascade across the starry sky. Grinning ear to ear he unknowingly grasped Roxas' hand a little tighter.

Roxas didn't bother glancing at the display. He had all that he needed in front of him. "Yeah..." He agreed, with a small smile. Watching his blue eyes dance with the explosions of the fireworks and the collective hues of colors on Sora, followed by his excited grin and bouncing up and down, Roxas couldn't help a light, humored scoff. Was this really the person he'd decided to date? Better yet, was Sora _really_ the same age as him? Watching all of Sora's expressions with a soft smile across his features, Roxas tightened his grip on Sora's hand a little more. Feeling their collective warmth mingle together, he was unfamiliar with the alien sensation. Usually when people touched him he felt the compulsion to change his clothes, take a shower, and try to forget the fact that they ever did such an unforgivable act. Did it make him snobby? Maybe. He could honestly say that he'd never met someone like Sora- and maybe that was why he didn't mind doing things like this. Heck, he probably had to step his game up since Sora basically tried to get the two of them together in the first place when he asked if they were dating or not.

"Hey. Sora-" Giving him a gentle nudge and using a soft tone of voice, Roxas attempted to take his attentions away from the fireworks.

"Huh?" Sora asked, giving Roxas his full attention. "Something on your mind? Hand getting sweaty? Sorry." Attempting to take his hand back, he was surprised when Roxas didn't let his go. It hadn't been a forceful gesture on his part to keep their hands together, more of a gentle squeeze to indicate it wasn't what he wanted.

"No...it's not that... nothing like that." Roxas said, averting his eyes. How was he supposed to say something so trivial and embarrassing? "I- do you want to stay over at my place?" Making full eye contact, he tried to portray an air of confidence that shouldn't be confused with self-righteousness or arrogance. He was trying to be sincere to Sora. Pausing for a few moments as his words lingered in the air, Roxas felt a tad bit vulnerable. This was unknown territory to him.

"Sure!" Sora instantly gave his reply with absolutely no hesitance whatsoever. "Was that what you wanted to say?" Roxas ordinarily didn't bother with little things like inviting him over, as he'd given Sora a standing open-invitation. And was it just him, or did Roxas seem anxious?

"Uh... yeah." Roxas nodded. "You can invite your friends over too if you want. And Ven's staying over too so you don't have to worry." Foreshadowing the fact that he wouldn't be trying anything with Sora, he wanted him to feel comfortable enough to stay. Not that any of that seemed to be on his mind.

"Huh?" Sora tilted his head to the side and blinked at Roxas. "I kinda figured Ventus was staying at your place already..." Scratching the back of his head and chuckling, Roxas' worries instantly flew over the brunettes head. "I can see if they want to stay over! A sleepover sounds fun! Especially with Ventus there!" Unable to contain his enthusiasm, Sora couldn't help gushing over a few things as he was in an extraordinarily good mood. Feeling Roxas' hand tighten on his own, Sora looked over at the blond in a confused manner.

"Don't cheat on me." Roxas repeated himself, looking at Sora in a serious manner. His tone of voice didn't have the usual bone chilling manner coursing through ti, but instead was replaced with an unfamiliar, softer tone.

"I promised, didn't I?" Sora asked, smiling as widely as he could at Roxas. "There's no way I could cheat on you. You're the first person I've ever liked more than a friend." Sheepishly admitting that fact as he looked Roxas dead on, he scratched the back of his head. "Sorry if I seem a little hyper, or... _annoying-_ I'm just really excited right now. You've made me really happy." Sora was doing his absolute best to contain his excitement and not be gushing in a manner that would anger Roxas and it took absolutely all of his willpower now to do so.

"You... don't have to push yourself. Act how you like." Looking at anywhere else in general, he was a tad bit embarrassed and simultaneously feeling a wave of conflicting emotions at the moment. Glancing at Sora through the corner of his eye, he smiled a bit. Though he might not admit it out loud- Sora had made him happy above all the rest of his resonant feelings.

"I thought you said to be quiet. The others might hear, remember?" Sora asked, glancing over at Ventus, Kairi, Namine and Riku who all seemed to be enjoying the display while it lasted.

"Yeah, they might. But they don't have to know why you're happy, right? I just- I don't want to tell Ventus about this. He'll probably freak out and do unnecessary things that'll embarrass the both of us." Roxas couldn't think of anything at the moment but he was sure his overbearing older brother would find a way to embarrass him about his first boyfriend.

"Okay." Sora didn't push him on the subject. Besides, how was he supposed to tell Riku that he and Roxas were now dating? Would his friend be angry at him? He sincerely hoped not. Namine and Kairi were more than likely going to be happy for him but he dreaded telling Riku. Just at that thought, the last of the fireworks exploded and the group finished observing the sky. They appeared to be looking around in all directions and finally smiled, seemingly relieved at the sight of Sora and Roxas. Despite the standing on the blond and their company, the girls were actually happy to be in his company and vice-versa. Riku was a very much different story but he was glad his brunette friend hadn't gotten himself into any kind of trouble that only Sora would be able to find. Ventus smiled softly and seemed slightly aloof of the situation but nonetheless was happy with the current development between the pair.

"Sora! There you are!" Kairi smiled as she rushed over. "I thought for a second you might've missed the fireworks! I know how much you like them. Did you watch the show with Roxas?" The redhaired girl asked as she looked between the boys for an answer.

"Miss them? No." Sora shook his head, grinning back at her. "I really liked the Chocobo one! The moogle was really cool too!"

"Yeah. We watched them together." Roxas answered her as Sora seemed to be far more peppy than usual- and that was saying something. Judging by the way he was squeezing Roxas' hand and the ecstatic, rushed form of speech coming from him, he was still very much excited by what had happened earlier.

"I'm glad to hear it." Kairi continued to smile as Namine and the others joined the trio.

"Glad to hear what?" Namine inquired as she came within earshot.

"That they enjoyed the fireworks together." Kairi subtly filled Namine in on the gossip. Both girls instantly noticed the boys were holding hands, that Sora was holding a Chocobo plush that he previously hadn't had, and didn't want to spoil the moment they were likely intruding on. How careless of them to have gotten caught up in the show when their friend was doing something perhaps even more interesting.

"That's nice!" Namine and Kairi shared a knowing look between themselves. "So. What now?"

"Roxas invited us all over to stay at his place!" Sora didn't mean to be as loud as he was, but he honestly was having a hard time containing himself right now.

Everyone immediately looked over to Roxas to confirm whether or not this statement was true, as none of them were certain. Seemingly caught off-guard by their looks, Roxas nodded.

"Then it's settled! We'll have a sleepover!" Kairi spoke up, and Namine readily agreed.

"Riku are you coming?" Namine asked, though she figured it could go either way she had a hunch that he'd agree. After all, Sora was involved.

Grunting in response, the silver haired male folded his arms and stared at Roxas. He couldn't resist the borderline scowl on his face when he stared at that brat who was holding hands with his best friend. Taking his noise as a 'yes', the group progressed onward. Sora and Roxas continued to hold hands due to the fact that no one in the group acknowledged it, and they chalked it up to Sora being Sora.

"You don't like him, huh?" Ventus asked, striking up conversation while he walked side by side with Riku. Everyone had seemingly paired off in twos: Namine/Kairi, Sora/Roxas, Ventus/Riku.

"You catch on quick." Riku didn't mean to be bitter against Ventus, but he shared the same face and even sounded identical to Roxas. It was hard not to be pissed off by him.

"Sora likes him." Ventus spoke the three words that Riku knew and without fail managed to piss him off.

"I know that." Riku averted his eyes and frowned.

"What happens if the two of them start dating? Are you going to protest to it? Sora might be upset that his bestfriend and boyfriend won't be able to get along, you know?" Stating what was absolutely the obvious between the two older males, Ventus just wanted to lay things out for Riku.

"...whatever makes him happy. Sora doesn't like being coddle and he's already made himself perfectly clear to me that he's not afraid to stand up for that blond psychopath. What's it to you, anyway? Didn't you and Sora just meet?" Riku asked, feeling the tension between the two of them lessening a bit.

"I'd like to have a cute brunette brother-in-law someday." Ventus said with a smile and small laugh.

"You think he could actually get that serious with Sora?" Riku asked, raising a brow.

Ventus shrugged. "Maybe. Anything's possible. Besides, he's... I won't get too specific, but I know he's enduring through more than a few things for Sora. Things he ordinarily wouldn't put up with at all."

"And that makes it all okay? Him mistreating my friend and acting the way he is? I don't think so." Riku couldn't resist shutting the idea down right then and there.

"I didn't say that. Roxas, he- he's bad at reading people. Some things happened that made him really distrustful of others and he has a habit of seeing only the negative in others. He likes Sora, and I don't mean that lightly. He really likes him. He's just too stubborn to admit that." Ventus explained. Watching his little brother walking hand in hand with his adorable companion, he smiled softly.

"I won't hand over my friend so easily to someone like him. If he can show that he actually gives a damn about him and stops treating him like less than then I'll happily stand aside." Riku knew that Sora was made happy by Roxas' presence and that the two of them more than likely would end up dating at some point, but he didn't want his friend to come running to him every time his feelings got hurt by that bratty little jerk.

"He does. He really does, and I know that for a fact. You just... don't have the fortune to know him that well. I know that he can be a handful, and I'm glad that you care so much for your friend. I'll do my best to keep him in check, so don't worry so much." Ventus smiled and tried to be assuring to Riku but he wasn't sure if he'd so easily take his word on the matter.

Riku glanced over at Ventus and was surprised at how genuine he appeared to be. How could someone like this possibly be related to a person like Roxas? If Sora had gotten all weird and overly protective of Ventus like he had Roxas- Riku wouldn't have objected at all. To him, Roxas was absolutely toxic and not a person for Sora to be hanging around. However having spoken his peace about this before and being scolded/in a heated argument with Sora that lasted a few days. He'd never fought with Sora to that degree before and it was honestly a whole new experience for him. Walking the remainder of the way in silence, the group eventually made it to Roxas' apartment and promptly followed the blond inside.

"It's not that large of a space but I am prepared in the case of guests." Roxas spoke up to the group as he took off his shoes and waited for the last of them to walk inside. Finally noticing he was still towing Sora with him everywhere he went, he released his hand and shut the door behind the others, locking it. Walking past the others, Roxas went into the closet in the hallway and retrieved an air mattress. Glancing at Ventus, he decided to ask him. "Where do you want to sleep?"

"I'm fine with anywhere." Ventus didn't hesitate at all in answering.

"Alright. Well there's the bedroom to anyone who wants it. Maybe you two?" Roxas asked, glancing at Kairi and Namine. Despite his offer being open to 'anyone' he didn't dare offer it to Riku. The thought of him touching or being near his things was enough to put him into a foul mood. "Anyone can sleep in the living room, there's plenty of space in there on the couch and the blow up bed." He supposed that he'd be taking his training room as a spot for him to be sleeping. It was more privatized and whatever the others might think of him, Roxas had his reasoning for choosing to be alone.

"Where are you going to be sleeping?" Sora asked Roxas. If he wasn't going to be taking his room, then was there somewhere else he had in mind?

"In there." Roxas nodded to his training room. "Why?" Despite not being overly dense, Roxas portrayed himself that way so Sora would have to spill out what he wanted to ask.

"I thought we could watch a movie or something." Sora wasn't really ready to sleep yet and wasn't sure if he could ask the question on his mind.

"I guess." Roxas glanced around the room. "Did anyone else want to do that?" On the cumulative nod from the crowd he led them into the living room. "Any requests?" On all of the blank stares he sighed and decided to pick the first thing to catch his eye: a horror movie. Sitting on the couch with Sora, the kitten promptly leapt onto his lap and hissed at the blond male. Narrowing his eyes at the kitten, he supposed he'd have to endure through it as Sora rather seemed to enjoy its company. Ventus was quick to sit beside him while Riku, Kairi and Namine took the other couch and occasionally glanced over at the trio of boys. To them it was so peculiar to see two Roxas' sitting side-by-side: An angry and a kind one who seemed to differ greatly in reactions to things.

A few times during the movie Sora would jump or grab onto Roxas' shoulder and bury his head into his chest for comfort. Despite the frequency and hands on approach toward Roxas, he didn't mind the reactions to the horror movie, in fact he barely noticed them anymore. That is, until they stopped altogether and he was waiting for any moment that the brunette freaked out and held onto him for dear life.

Feeling a sudden weight on his shoulder, Roxas glanced over to see Sora and the kitten both sound asleep. Sora was unintentionally using his shoulder as a pillow, and Roxas couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. Completely ignoring the movie they'd been watching to the point that he could no longer understand/nor cared for what was happening on the screen, Roxas decided that it was probably about time they all went to bed anyway. Everyone seemed drowsy and tired out from their exciting evening and despite his best efforts to at the very least seem hospitable to his guests, he was ready for rest. Roxas resolved to get off the couch. Slowly inching his way off and preventing Sora from falling at the same time, Roxas finally succeeded in his endeavors. Gently placing Sora's head on a pillow, the brunette began to drool a bit. Letting out a small snort, Roxas shook his head. How could someone be this child-like at this age? An even better question was, how did someone as jaded as him end up with a person like Sora? Their personalities were polar opposite: His was brash, abrasive, rude, came off as entirely arrogant/cold/uncaring toward others, and nobody had ever really taken the time to get to know him. Sure, there had been Axel, but he'd quickly warmed up to the redhead because of the fact that they had compatible personalities and like-wise got along easily. It wasn't hard to figure out why the two of them had become best friends. Sora, on the other hand generally meant well with everyone. He had no hidden agendas, and was a 'kind' person through and through. But that made him naive, easygoing and far too trusting of people. Someone like him was far too good for how crappy people could treat you- especially the way Roxas had treated him.

Seeing Sora's face scrunch up in his sleep, Roxas chuckled lightly. Stooping down, Roxas picked up Sora and did his best not to wake him up. To his surprise, Sora seemed to be a pretty heavy sleeper. Carrying him bridal style, he stepped over the legs of sleeping people and did his best to avoid waking them up. Making his way to the doorway, Roxas strode to the training room and propped himself against the wall so that he could free his arm to the point that it was able to turn the doorknob and open it. Once the hard part had been achieved, Roxas brought Sora in the room and shut the door behind them. Placing him down on one of the training mats, he stared down at the peacefully sleeping brunette.

"I don't know how I feel about you-" The blonde whispered the words aloud, stooping down to Sora's level. Supporting his head on his forearms while he leaned forward on the mat, Roxas keenly observed Sora. After a few moments, he continued thinking aloud. "-but you're _different_. So different that I honestly don't know how to deal with you-" Letting out a light scoff, he found his own statement to be preposterous. _Deal with you_ (?). Sora was the one stuck with an arrogant, stubborn, headstrong individual like Roxas who _always_ had to have his way. "I have a short fuse, and I know I can be difficult...but I don't know how to act with people. It's been so long, that I'm completely inept. I've also...never met someone like you." Confessing aloud his inner musings to Sora, Roxas looked for any signs that Sora on some level was hearing what had been spoken, and that he was accepting of the information. Though he found the idea to be absolutely naive/childish in nature, he wouldn't put it past the slumbering brunette boy. As they were right now, he knew that the possibility of a relationship wouldn't be possible. Sora was far too nice, and naive- and Roxas was difficult and had the foresight to know that things probably wouldn't end the way he wanted them to. Someone like Sora was too good for someone like him, and he was delusional to think that he could ever be the kind of person Sora could be happy with- he didn't want someone to worry about whether or not their temper would land them into a full on brawl and possibly in a juvenile detention center or jail.

Roxas knew that it was a very real possibility for him. He had a volatile personality that often clashed with people.

After he finished his words, Sora's face relaxed and the brunette seemed to once more be sleeping peacefully. _You like him._ Hearing Ventus' words, Roxas didn't protest them in the slightest. Running his fingers through his hair, he let out a long, suffering sigh and stared blankly at Sora. He had several theories on Sora - in which he was he was a tad bit in denial - one of which was that he simply had been a deviant of some sort who somehow formed an attraction to someone he disliked. Thinking on it now, he could say that theory was absolutely incorrect. Despite his previous disposition on Sora- the brunette had won him over. Roxas had never been jealous before- and as such he didn't necessarily understand how to react to the situation. His first instinct had been to beat the hell out of the other boy, and he likely would have had he not dragged Sora out of the classroom to confront him about a few things. Lucky Vanitas, he supposed. Considering the fact that he knew MMA wouldn't likely help the situation. Taekwondo/Ba Ji Quan/Karate were all fine martial arts in their own right, but combined into a seamless assault they'd be a deadly force to be reckoned with.

As much as he'd love to stay in his kneeling position and stare at Sora- Roxas had to get to bed. Once more stepping out of the room he retrieved some blankets and pillows from the closet. Going back to the others, he supplied one to each of them- even Riku. Doing his best to hurry and not get caught by one of the others in performing a 'kind' act to the behemoth, he quickly made his way out of there. Going into his room, he retrieved his blanket and pillows then made his way back to Sora before it dawned on him: No one was using his bedroom. Tossing them back on the mattress, he went back to his training room and retrieved Sora. Walking him into his room, Roxas shut the door and placed him on the side nearest the wall. He had no idea if he moved around in his sleep or not so it was better to be safe than sorry when it came to these things.

Lifting the blanket and letting it gently glide down on the pocket of air produced by rising it up and down, Roxas covered Sora in blankets and crawled into bed next to him. Staying on top of the covers, Roxas figured it would have been too inappropriate to be underneath with him. Taking one last glance at Sora, he rolled over to his side facing away from the brunette. He didn't want to wake Sora and risk him thinking something strange. Shutting his eyes, he sighed and prepared to sleep. After a few moments when he felt his sensations dulling, Roxas felt a pair of arms around him and warmth behind his back. Quickly flicking open his eyes, he turned his head back and saw Sora, sleeping and cuddling him. Tensing up a bit, he relaxed and decided to leave it alone. Relaxing, he fell asleep encompassed in a comfortable warmth.


	11. Chapter 10: Punishment

Sora was the first to awake in the morning to a peculiar sight and vast amount of questions. He may have been wrong, but there was something blond directly in his line of sight. Squinting his eyes and blinking while trying to get through the haze of sleep washing over him, Sora was seemingly more confused than before. Taking in a slow-starting yawn, Sora wanted to rub his eyes to rid himself of the excess moisture, but he seemed to be holding onto something- or someone. Not wanting to wake up the other person, he did the one thing he could think of in his sleepy state: slowly leaning forward, he gently nuzzled their back and stopped only when he heard/felt them stirring from his actions. Doing his best to sit still and not disturb his companion, Sora had halted himself in a peculiar situation. His face was currently in the nape of Roxas' neck with a few strands of his blond hair gently tickling his nose. Inhaling and exhaling gently in a consistent rhythm, Sora smelled the pleasant scent of Roxas' body wash coupled with his deodorant that had a pleasant sweetness of it. Almost like a gentle rain fall mixed with an earthy aroma. Sora honestly wouldn't mind if he had to inhale this scent for a while longer.

"Sora. What are you doing?"

Involuntarily 'jumping', Sora felt his body tense up as he was confronted on his actions. "N-nothing!" Trying to portray himself as innocent, he wasn't sure why he felt guilty. It wasn't as if it was a crime to appreciate the smell of your significant other, was it?

Roxas turned his head and glanced over at Sora as much as he could. "Then why'd you get so jumpy?"

"You scared me." Sora answered Roxas honestly, hoping his statement would be enough to avoid more scrutiny.

"Because you knew you were doing something wrong." Roxas pointed out, turning his body so that he entirely faced Sora. "I didn't figure you to be the type to attack me while I was sleeping." Despite the front Sora was trying to convey to Roxas, the blond could easily see through it. Sora didn't have much of a poker face so it was pretty easy to figure out when he was lying.

"I wasn't doing anything!" Sora continued to protest Roxas' accusations of him. "You were just... sleeping, and I- I was watching you. Well not at first, I mean, I didn't know where I was... and who was with me." Stumbling to better explain himself, he could feel himself tensing up a bit and begin to fidget in order to concentrate better and articulate more. "I was confused, and sleepy, and... you smelled good. _Really_ good." Grinning like a moron as he scratched the back of his head, Sora shut his eyes and hoped he wouldn't be in for some trouble. Trying to keep them shut for as long as possible, he inevitably cracked one open just a bit to see if he was about to be scolded. To his surprised it didn't seem like Roxas was mad at him- more... _amused_? Not used to Roxas smiling, Sora was at a loss on what to do.

"You were smelling my hair?" Roxas couldn't resist a snort. "What are you, an animal?" Raising a brow, Roxas wouldn't admit that he thought the sentiment was cute. Or the fact that he'd been awake for longer than he'd let on to be. In all honesty he was trying to be serious, but Roxas was factually on the verge of snickering at Sora and his odd actions.

"No! I was... tired. And you were... you smelt nice." Sora didn't have much of a problem admitting that fact. His cheeks felt slightly warm, and he figured he was blushing to a light extent. Roxas didn't have an unpleasant aroma. Most peoples colognes were so overbearing that it gave him headaches.

Roxas let out a small scoff/laugh. "Since you like my smell so much you wanna borrow some clothes? While _I_ might smell nice, you on the other hand smell like an animal. A bratty kitty to be exact." Roxas frowned when he thought of the kitten Sora had gotten attached to and was now roaming his apartment. During the night it had scratched at his doorway and meowed at a constant but Roxas just pretended to not hear and eventually it gave up. Probably found someone else to bother or 'cuddle' due to Sora's absence. He honestly couldn't tell which of them was more attached to the other.

"Do cats even have smells?" Sora wondered aloud, to his recollection they didn't seem to have an odor good or bad. Sometimes they could have a _little_ fragrance but that was just because of their spit when they cleaned themselves.

"You probably don't notice it because you're used to having animals around. I'm not. Even though Ventus liked them he never kept one because he knew they didn't like me." Roxas thought back to their adolescence. His older brother likely missed out on quite a bit just for Roxas being the way that he was. Despite the fact that most people judged him to be 'rude' and not care about others or their feelings, Roxas was just a very particular person who liked things a particular way. Did that sometimes make him unreasonable? Sure. It just took him a while to warm up to people. A 'while' being a few years or so.

"Oh." Sora was a bit surprised by his answer but he honestly should have known better- Roxas told him animals didn't like him for some reason so it stood to reason that they didn't welcome (if any) many into their home. It was a shame that for some reason they didn't get along. Maybe Roxas just had the misfortune of meeting animals who didn't like some aspect of him?

Roxas saw Sora in some form of deep thought and honestly wondered where he currently was in his mind. Fixating on him for a moment or two, he took in a short breath and let out a small sigh. While rousing him from his thoughts by using some sort of physical action - flicking on the forehead, etc. - would have been fun, Roxas figured there were far more productive uses of his time. Getting off of his bed he went to his closet and retrieved a few articles of clothing for both himself and Sora. Settling on a decent outfit, he tossed the clothing over to Sora and watched as it landed on the stunned teen who wasn't at all prepared for Roxas' toss.

"Hey!" Sora whined a bit, clawing his way out from under the sweater/shirt/pants Roxas had picked for him. "Huh? When'd you get over there?" Sora asked once he finally clawed his way out from under Roxas' borrowed outfit.

"When you were busy probably thinking about irrelevant things." Roxas stated what he believed to be the truth since Sora did seem to often space out about things which were 'important' to him but not so much to Roxas. He stressed the small things too much. "I'm going to take a shower." He turned to face the door and was about to walk out before he heard Sora call to him.

"Wait." Sora piped up, wondering if Roxas would do as he asked.

Turning his head, Roxas glanced over at the brunette boy. "Don't tell me you wanna join me-?" Leaving the question open, Roxas meant to tease Sora but it seemed the statement had gone completely over his head.

"You mean like at school?" Sora asked, innocently thinking of the stalls and the fact that the two of them had _technically_ showered together before. Albeit behind literal closed doors and privately.

Roxas recalled the time at their school that they'd both gone into the locker room and showered together. While his actions hadn't exactly been noble, more instinctual and a tad bit embarrassing in nature, he didn't want to be stereotypical or portray himself as a beast of a boy who couldn't control his hormones long enough to gawk at the naked form of another male, but Roxas had a hard time restraining himself. Ordinarily his eyes wouldn't wander, but he had to admit even back then he thought of Sora as an attractive person. An _annoying_ attractive person. Frowning at his thoughts, Roxas made eye contact with Sora, though now flustered himself as opposed to the brunette in question. "No- not like that. I don't even have stalls in my bathroom. It's just an ordinary bathroom set-up." Speaking more logically and without exactly thinking, he was describing a particularly lewd encounter. Thankfully, it didn't seem like Sora would ever really pick up on such things.

"And you wanted to shower together?" Sora asked, seemingly confused. Staring up at Roxas, he rubbed his eyes as he figured he must have been very sleepy or dreaming due to the strangeness of what he'd just heard. Though he himself may have very well been the strange one as his answer was very much teetering on the word 'yes'. In part because he felt lazy and the thought of someone else doing all of the work that showering would entail for himself seemed like a sweet deal. There wouldn't be much surprises on his end either, as Sora was honestly just desensitized to most things.

"No. It was a joke. Don't worry about it- as it doesn't happen often." Roxas completely forgot about the fact that he'd only stopped and said what he did to get a stir out of Sora in the first place, he forgot that Sora had something he wanted to ask of him. He could feel an unfamiliar heat on his face, perhaps of embarrassment and didn't exactly want to get caught. Instead of remaining in the awkward situation where his words hung in the air and he'd definitely made things a tad bit uncomfortable, he promptly exited the room, grabbed a towel from the hallway closet and made his way into the bathroom. Shutting the door and leaning against it as he did so, Roxas looked to the ceiling, dropped the clothing and towel he'd held in his hands and sighed. Shutting his eyes for a moment or two, he played with the locks of his hair, sifting his hand through them as he tried to regain his focus. Why was he so bad at interacting with other people? In all honesty he hadn't really gotten any practice. Outside of family and a few select people- he'd never really _liked_ anyone. But now there was a troublesome brunette in his way. One who seemed to enjoy life to its fullest, always be carefree and everything was sugar and rainbows. The complete and utter polar opposite of himself. Finally coming back to reality, he saw his clothes and towel on the floor. Stooping down, he picked them up and promptly organized the towel on top of his outfit while he ran the shower. His routine truly never changed.

Slipping into the shower, he shut his eyes and tilted his head forward, allowing the warm water cascade down his face. Pressing his hands against the tile in front of him, he supported himself upright and leaned his head down while keeping his eyes shut. For a few fleeting moments this was his reprieve from life- a gentle warmth on his face to soothe him and the sweet allure of darkness. He hadn't even bothered to switch on the light in the bathroom as this was just the way he liked it.

Little by little, his darkness shifted toward the 'light'. Memories of himself and Sora.

 _Standing up, he walked to the kitchen and decided to do one of the most basic tasks that came with visiting an individuals house: Find an item to bring with him. Factually he had no idea what kind of person Sora's mother was- but if she was anything like her son...then it wouldn't be too hard. Rummaging around his kitchen - albeit quietly so as not to wake up Sora - Roxas knew just what to do- baking. His own mother had taught him how to bake a menagerie of things, and while he may have wanted to do something a little more grand for meeting Sora's mother, he decided against it. They were probably more of a 'cookie' kind of family, anyway. Throwing open a few drawers, Roxas prepared the cookie sheet and preheated the oven. Racking his brain for a certain recipe his mother had taught him when he was little, he was honestly drawing a blank- maybe Ventus would know?_

 _Pulling out his phone and finding Ventus under 'Contacts' he pressed on the name while fishing out a mixing bowl, wooden spoon and measuring cups he was sure he'd need. After a few rings, Ventus picked up and Roxas continued to semi-clang around items from his kitchen._

 _"Hello?" Ventus was a tad bit puzzled on what he was hearing through Roxas' end of things. Had this been an accidental dial?_

 _"Quick question- do you happen to remember the recipe for cookies mom would make when we were little?" Roxas knew it would seem like an out of the blue question, but he honestly couldn't for the life of him remember it._

 _"Uh...yeah, why do you ask?" Confused on why Roxas was all of the sudden feeling nostalgic, Ventus wondered if he was just making them for himself. Was he feeling a bit lonely? Or was he practicing for when Ventus himself arrived?_

 _Initially hesitant to answer, Roxas decided to just be out with it. "I'm meeting Sora's mother today and I thought I should bring something with me."_

 _"That's so cute! You're baking for his mom!" Ventus couldn't help gushing over it. Roxas was baking for Sora's family?_

 _"Yeah, yeah I know. Adorable. Anyway. Would you mind giving me the recipe?" Roxas didn't really care for hearing about how 'cute' he was being toward other people._

 _"Sure. I'll send it. Is that all you wanted?" After a few moments, Ventus quickly sent over the recipe and waited to see if Roxas needed anything further from him._

 _"Uh yeah, actually...so. I skipped two classes today, and I'd rather not get a phone call about how 'disappointed' they are in me, so if you wouldn't mind..." Roxas trailed off, looking at the recipe and hoping Ventus would do the favor he asked for._

 _"So you want me to cover for you? Fine." Ventus was a tad bit surprised that Roxas had skipped school today. Why slip into old habits all of the sudden?_

 _"You're the best. I owe you one." Roxas finished memorizing the ingredients on the screen and quickly set about making the recipe. Clanging around a few things, he stopped every so often to make sure Sora wasn't on the verge of getting up. To his relief the boy seemed like he could sleep through just about anything- all the better, considering he didn't necessarily want him to see Roxas wearing an apron. Talk about embarrassing._

 _"Uh, Roxas...what am I supposed to be looking at?" Ventus asked, clearly puzzled on something._

 _"Huh?" Roxas frowned at Ventus' quandary. "What do you mean?" Mixing the sugar/butter together, he moved on to adding in eggs and vanilla, while listening out for any sort of response from Ventus. Priding himself very much in his ability to multi-task, Roxas was making short work of the recipe._

 _"The sleeping boy in the picture. Who is he?" Ventus innocently asked the question, wondering how/why Roxas had come across it._

 _Instantly stopping what he was doing, Roxas swore he could feel his heart stop. "What boy in what picture?" Innocently asking the question while attempting to keep his calm, Roxas scrambled to find his phone amidst all of the strewn about ingredients. After clambering around for a few moments, he finally managed to find it. The screen had locked, so Roxas didn't have the immediate privilege of seeing what he assumed to be trouble._

 _"The sleeping brunette boy." And then it finally clicked for Ventus. "That's Sora isn't it? Did you skip school with him?" Gasping a bit, Ventus may have been getting himself worked up, but he now had several theories that had to be vocalized. "Why is he sleeping on your couch- did the two of you...?" Trailing off, because he couldn't find himself to utter the words aloud, he hoped that heavily implying would have been enough. While most older brothers would have been thrilled at the prospect of their baby brothers doing 'it'- Ventus was not in that category. Besides, wouldn't he have to be together with the brunette boy before doing something like that? Although, and call him crazy, but wasn't 'something' going on for him to be sharing his personal space with this boy? Deciding against pressing for information as he knew that Roxas would get defensive and the conversation would go nowhere._

 _"Wha- no!" Roxas' jaw dropped at Ventus' inquiry. "Keep your voice down!" Hissing, he took Ventus off speaker and held his hand over the receiver. Striding to the living room, he glanced over the corner and found Sora, soundly asleep. Letting out a sigh of relief, he removed his hand and went back to the kitchen before answering anymore questions. "Yes, it's Sora...I convinced him to skip school with me, but he didn't want to at first- thought his parents would get mad at him...so I'm going with him to take responsibility. I was supposed to meet his mother, anyway, what better time than to let her know I convinced him to skip out on half a day of school?"_

 _"Roxas, what happened?" Hearing his ramblings, Ventus picked up on the fact that Roxas was distressed. Feeling worried, he hoped that Roxas would open up to him._

 _Clenching his jaw, Roxas swore Ventus knew him better than just about anyone. "A new boy showed up at school, decided that he just had to make a move on Sora in front of me- and it took just about everything I had to not flip over a desk and knock him out."_

 _"What did he do that made you want to attack him?"_

 _"Kissed him then threw me a remark that I don't care to repeat. He's a vulgar little son of a bi-"_

 _"Roxas!"_

 _"What!?"_

 _"I've never seen you this bothered about someone before- are you...jealous?" Ventus honestly wanted to find out the answer to his question. For all intensive purposes, Roxas likely wouldn't want to answer him and if he didn't, then Ventus would - rightfully - assume he was correct in his assumptions._

 _"What if I am?" Roxas asked, not bothering to deny it. Sure, he may have been acting like an overly possessive brat to someone he hadn't 'tied down'- but what the hell gave people the nerve to make a move on Sora? In front of Roxas, to boot. Sure, he'd kissed Sora for absolutely selfish reasons- but he couldn't just leave things the way they were. Sora flipped out from just being in his presence, and as much as Roxas openly stated that he'd rather be alone...that just didn't seem like a possibility, anymore. It seemed like he was doing just about anything and everything he could manage to tie Sora down without taking that official step. That kitten which would now be living with him was a prime example- but what else was he supposed to do? Sora was incredibly naive, and probably wouldn't even know things couples did. He enjoyed fun, going out with friends- anything that was purely 'vanilla' and...childish/completely on whim. Roxas was the opposite, he enjoyed everything he did having meaning behind it and not being a byproduct of whimsy._

 _"I'm confused. Roxas- what is the specific label you'd put on your relationship with Sora? Because the last time we spoke you wouldn't admit to liking him, let alone letting him stay over, skip school with you...and if I'm not mistaken, there's a kitten on him. I know you don't like animals, and for you to even allow one within your apartment is a pretty big step." Listing off the multitude of reasons Ventus had for wondering if they were a couple or not, he hoped Roxas would give him a straight answer. One of the more clear cut pieces of evidence he had supporting the fact that Roxas more than likely thought more of them than simple 'friends' was the fact that he'd taken a picture of the sleeping boy, and - perfectly - explained his aesthetic in quite the detail in their prior conversation. Not to mention the fact that there appeared to be animals in the mix of things._

Of course that situation had only gotten more heated and complicated because of the fact that Sora had woken up and gotten off the couch. Roxas didn't want him to overhear any of his conversation with Ventus so he was forced to hang up on him.

 _About to answer, Roxas was startled by a yawn from behind him. Instantly clicking 'End' he turned on his heels and found himself face to face with Sora. The brunette was rubbing his eyes and stretching/fighting off yet another yawn._

 _"Sora?" Roxas questioned him, but the brunette didn't even seem to register the fact that Roxas was there._

 _Squinting a bit to focus his vision, Sora's eyes finally rested upon Roxas. "Oh. Hey." Sora sleepily did his best to maintain a conversation._

 _"Did you just wake up?" Roxas wanted to know how much/if any of his conversation Sora had heard._

 _Sora sleepily nodded to him and sat at Roxas' table. "Something smells good."_

 _Roxas felt relieved on hearing that Sora had only woken up/come into his kitchen because he smelt what he'd been making. "I was making something for when I meet your mother." Roxas explained, watching the sleepy Sora do his damned hardest to wake up and begin to function again._

 _"They're for my mom?" Sora asked, giving him a slight look of disappointment._

 _"You can have one." Roxas didn't even know why he bothered saying they were explicitly for Sora's mother, as it was fairly obvious that Sora would want some too. How could he honestly not know that someone who could act more childish than likely a child could, wouldn't want one? Seeing him perk up a bit, the blond shook his head. Such a child. Although they weren't cooled, Sora expectantly looked over to him, waiting for one to be dropped in front of him. "They're probably too hot for you to try and eat right now..." Sora's look didn't change, so Roxas threw his hands up in surrender. "Alright. But don't say I didn't warn you." Especially when you burn your tongue or hands. Taking one fresh off the sheet, Roxas grabbed a napkin and placed it in front of Sora._

 _The brunette instantly perked up at the sudden treat in front of him. Ignoring all warnings, he picked it up and tossed it swiftly between his hands. "Ow! Hot!" After a few moments of the back and forth, he managed to have a firm grip on it and take a bite. The heat exuded by the cookie should have been an indicator that it would very nearly scald his mouth, but Sora was very impatient and wanted to try it right away. For the first few moments, he was amazed by how good it was and rather enjoyed Roxas' baking. Once the enjoyment was replaced by the burning pain, he took swift, short breaths to counteract the heat. Hurriedly swallowing the bite of cookie he'd taken so as to remove it from his mouth and hopefully cool down, Sora felt the warmth slide down his throat and into his chest, to his stomach._

 _"I don't know exactly what just happened here..." Roxas admitted, scratching the back of his head. It seemed like Sora would need to be supervised constantly._

 _"It's really good!" Sora said, giving Roxas a thumbs up._

 _"I'm glad you like them, but wouldn't you have rather waited?" Roxas asked._

 _Sora smiled innocently and shrugged his shoulders. "They smelled too good to resist." Glancing at Roxas, he hadn't noticed before that he was wearing an apron and covered in specks of flour. How he had managed to get some into his locks of blonde hair, he had no idea. But it seemed that Roxas had somehow managed to get it all over himself- had he been in a rush to complete the cookies? There was even a little bit on his cheeks, and it was a rather interesting sight to behold. Sora never really pictured him to be a 'messy' person, as Roxas always seemed to be very composed and serious, but right now he didn't appear to be either of those things. A smile quickly spread across his lips, and a little bout of laughter ensued._

 _"What?" Roxas asked, raising a brow and folding his arms. Glancing himself over, he wondered if it was the apron. But such a thing was practical while baking, so how could that be 'funny'? The one he wore was just a simple white._

 _Sora watched Roxas try to figure out the problem, and couldn't control his laughter long enough to tell him. The blond spun around to put more cookies in the oven, and Sora saw more flour on his behind. Snorting lightly, he looked away._

 _Roxas ignored him for the moment until he finished his current task. "Alright. What's so funny?"_

 _"You are." Sora said in between laughs._

 _"Me?" Roxas pointed to himself, scratching the side of his head and unknowingly putting more flour on himself._

 _Sora wasn't used to Roxas being clueless, so he guessed he'd have to help him out. Standing up, he walked over to Roxas and the stoic, taller male seemed absolutely clueless as to what he was doing. Reaching out his hand, he had to lean on his toes a little bit in order to reach the spiky part of Roxas' hair so that he could dust it off. The white granules of flour fell and Sora hoped that his point had come across._

 _"Oh." Roxas watched them fall to the floor. "So you think being covered in flour's funny, huh?"_

 _"Kinda." Sora nodded, shrugging his shoulders._

 _"I see." Roxas didn't really get it, but he nodded. Turning to the counter, he grabbed something that Sora was too slow to see. His right hand was closed in a fist, and he gave no indication on what he'd grabbed. Puzzled, Sora couldn't help but to stare. Raising it slowly, Roxas decided to end the silence between them. Bringing his hand to his lips, he opened his palm and gently blew, causing flour to cover Sora._

 _"Hey!" Sora whined, raising his hands defensively in a vain attempt to halt the flour from covering him. Opening his eyes, he found himself covered in a powdery white. Staring up at Roxas, the blonde boy seemed to rather enjoy the sight of Sora covered in flour._

 _"I have to admit- it does look funny." Roxas folded his arms, smirking at the brunette._

 _"Does it?" Sora asked, running over to the counter and grabbing a handful. Grinning at Roxas, the blonde shook his head. Sora nodded in response and tossed the powdery substance._

 _"Okay. So that's how you want to play it, huh?" Roxas asked, wiping flour from his face. Seeing the powdery substance now covering himself, he had nothing to lose, anyway. A smirk quickly spread across his face, one that he only ever had during fighting competitions._

 _Sora now had a look of utter terror on his face. Raising his hands, he began to back away from Roxas. "I give up!"_

 _"No you don't." Roxas scoffed at the retreating brunette. Matching him step for step, he felt a tad bit sadistic for enjoying Sora's retreat from himself. But it was hard not to when the brunette made things this easy. Sora unintentionally backed himself against a wall, and Roxas towered over the Sora who was still doing his best to surrender. Grinning down at him, Roxas surprised Sora when he hugged him._

 _"Uh... Roxas?" Sora asked, confused as to why Roxas had done something polar opposite to what he believed he was going to do. Stiffening a bit, Sora's initial shock/surprise eventually wore off as he relaxed in the peculiar gesture performed by the blond male._

 _"Now we're even." Roxas spoke up, pulling out of the hug and motioning to Sora's clothes that were now covered in the powdery mess of flour. Sure it may have rubbed off on Roxas and backfired a bit on his end of things, but at the very least they both were powdery messes. And, was it just him, or did Sora seem to enjoy the hug?_

 _"But now you're all dirty, too!" Sora pointed out the obvious, staring up at Roxas._

 _Roxas shrugged. "Yeah, but I have a change of clothes. Do you?"_

 _Sora thought about it, and his head sunk. "My mom's going to kill me."_

But his mother didn't. Roxas had brought over the peace offering and she listened to him recount the bad day he'd been having and seemed satisfied. It was a good thing too that she was such an understanding person. Well, once he explained in a little more detail as to _why_ he needed to drag her son off with him.

Finally snapping out of his thoughts, Roxas figured he'd been in the shower for long enough. How long had he been reflecting on past events? He honestly had no idea of finding out so he rushed through his normal bathing routine and shut off the water. Climbing out of the shower, he quickly dried his hair and moved on to his body. Getting dressed, he heard a gentle knock at the door. Not used to others being in the apartment, Roxas appreciated the fact that someone had the tact to knock. Walking over, he opened the bathroom door and stared at Sora who appeared to be confused on something. Raising a brow, he continued to stare down at the shorter male.

"Are you... in the dark?" Sora asked, staring at Roxas and tilting his head to the side.

"Yeah. It... calms me down." Roxas explained, casually shrugging his shoulders as he remained in the unlit bathroom and Sora stood in the illuminated hallway. Most people found their comforts in the light, being bathed in the golden glows of the suns rays, the flames of a candle or artificial light created by humans- but Roxas didn't share that perspective on things. He preferred the cold allure of darkness that seemed to be a soothing balm on the very fabric of his soul. At the end of the day, it wasn't radiant sunsets or sunrises that he enjoyed- it was the moment the night sky spread across the horizon and the moonlight bathe the world in an ethereal glow that the sun just didn't seem able to project. Even little things such as showering in the dark, or covering his bedroom window in order to be in near-total darkness felt like a reprieve.

"Oh." Sora nodded. "You uh, you wouldn't mind if I came in, would you?" Sora asked, fidgeting with his fingers a bit.

Roxas shook his head and stepped back. Sora did say he wanted to come in, right? So clearly it wasn't something that required Roxas to leave the bathroom.

"Thanks." Sora smiled. Stepping in, he shut the door and glanced from Roxas to the light. He seemed to want to say something but was biting his tongue for some reason. Sora seemed really uneasy.

"Something the matter?" Roxas asked, noticing his odd behavior and body language.

"No! Uh, yeah..." Sora trailed off, averting his eyes.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me." Roxas wasn't sure what he seemed to be embarrassed about.

"I'm...afraid of the dark." Sora admitted, bowing his head in shame and no longer meeting Roxas' gaze.

"...so?" Roxas asked, grabbing Sora's chin and making him look into his eyes. "That's nothing to be embarrassed about, Sora. Lots of people are afraid of it. I'm not. I have nyctophilia. I just enjoy the darkness." Clarifying as to what nyctophilia meant since Sora wore a very puzzled yet reluctant to ask expression after he spoke the word aloud. Reaching over to the wall, he flicked on the light switch. Watching as Sora's dull, blue eyes changed into a brilliant sky blue, his dark almost black hair became more defined as an auburn and his tanned skin showed up a little more. Flicking it off, he was sure he looked quite different as well. Sora had tensed up once he'd done so, and Roxas quickly flicked the switch back on. "See? There's nothing to be afraid of. There aren't any monsters in the dark, or things to fear."

"It's... still scary. But with you, it seems a lot less scary." Sora admitted, feeling silly for his irrational fear. Even when they'd visited that creepy house, Sora didn't really feel afraid when Roxas was with him.

"The brightest of lights cast the darkest shadows, Sora. There can't be light without darkness." Roxas explained things as well as he could to Sora. Though there were lots of conflicting ideations out there of what was 'right', etc, Roxas knew that light and darkness were always a constant struggle.

"You're... really smart." Sora smiled and complimented his blond boyfriend. "Way smarter than I am..." Scratching the back of his head and averting his eyes, Sora didn't really know where he was going with this.

"Don't do that." Roxas spoke up, frowning at Sora.

"Do what?" Sora asked, confused as he stared up at Roxas, puzzled.

"Put yourself down." Roxas stated the obvious. "I don't care if it's to make someone _else_ feel better about themselves, or if you think it's helping- _you_ matter, Sora. Stop taking care of everyone else and learn how to put yourself first- you've been around people who rely on your being a pushover for too long. It's okay to be selfish, it's okay to not just say 'yes' because people ask something of you. Speak your mind." Roxas didn't mean to sound harsh or make Sora feel uncomfortable, and if he did then he supposed he'd have to apologize in some form or other. Leading Sora back into his room and abandoning their position in the bathroom, he supposed the others wouldn't be able to overhear things this way. Not that he had any way of assuming they were awake or potentially eavesdropping but he was a very private person and didn't want them butting in.

"Be selfish...?" Sora asked, a little unsure of what Roxas exactly meant. Selfishness honestly just didn't come easy to Sora and he couldn't just willfully demand things from people whenever it was convenient for him.

"Yeah." Roxas nodded. "There has to be something you want, right? If it's something I can do then I'll do it. Within reason." Though it could quite literally mean just about 'anything' in this case, Roxas wasn't worried about that kind of situation arising. It was Sora. He wanted simple, easy things that were more than capable of being given from one person to another.

"Something I want..." Sora trailed off as he tried to think of something that Roxas would be able to give him. Obviously it would have to be small and something that wasn't a ridiculous ask. "Can I... Kiss you?" Sora asked, unsure what sort of boundaries were between the two of them. Normal couples did things like kissing, hand holding, dates, etc. He knew they weren't exactly 'normal' and had only been 'together' for a few hours, but Sora wanted to experience everything that came with dating someone. And until now, he honestly didn't realize he'd ever wanted any of those things. Laying back on the bed, he stared up at Roxas. Maybe he'd asked too much.

Seeing the little bouts of anxiety on Sora's face when he neglected to answer, Roxas smiled a bit. Stepping forward, he nodded. How could he possibly refuse when someone so sincerely asked something so simple of him? Patting the bed beside him, Sora watched as Roxas obeyed and lay opposite him. For once, Roxas was genuinely curious about what was to happen. He gave Sora free reign to do whatever he liked, and wondered if he'd end up taking advantage or chicken out. Laying on his side, Roxas watched as Sora's hand reached over and held his. Their hands linked together as Sora intertwined his fingers with Roxas' and smiled at the blond. Sora seemed content to just lay there with Roxas. It was simple and almost sweet, a reflection of Sora, really. Leaning over, Roxas kissed Sora since not only the moment had called for it, but he guessed that Sora would have trouble initiating things between them. At least for a little while. Observing that Sora still closed his eyes while they kissed, Roxas couldn't help the smile forming on his lips. It was funny, really. Why did he feel like he had to shut his eyes? Was he embarrassed, or did he just enjoy the act? Pulling back abruptly, Roxas saw a disappointed look cross Sora's face, much to his amusement. "I have to ask- why do you close your eyes?"

"Is it bad?" Sora asked, unsure of if it somehow had offended Roxas. He really hoped that he didn't make him angry. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing wrong with it or to be sorry for. I just find it interesting." Roxas admitted, wondering why some people liked to close their eyes whilst doing such a simple act. The first kiss he'd ever had? Blindsided. But he still managed to keep his eyes open, albeit in a perplexed manner followed by a blank stare at the girl who'd done it.

"I-" Sora fidgeted with his fingers a bit, feeling nervous. Glancing all around the room and periodically at Roxas while he spoke his words, Sora couldn't make direct eye contact with him, lest his embarrassment spike. "I think it'd be too embarrassing." Feeling his face get hot, Sora couldn't avoid looking Roxas in the eyes. "Watching you get closer... Feeling my heart pound faster until you kiss me- It's all just... too much!" Sora shut his eyes, gripping Roxas' hand a little tighter.

Roxas couldn't help but to be surprised by Sora's words. Letting out a light scoff, he shook his head. "I think it was just like that my first time." Were all 'firsts' just meant to be awkward?

"I thought you said your first kiss was with a girl and you didn't like it?" Sora asked, a little confused.

"It was and I didn't. But my first kiss with a guy? Different story." Roxas shrugged, casually stating facts. With a girl? He felt nothing. A guy? That was obviously different. He obviously had an attraction to men and felt nothing for women.

"Y-you've kissed a guy before!?" Sora asked, trying his very best to not overreact, but seemed to fail miserably.

"Yeah." Roxas nodded. Feeling a barrage of questions coming his way, he prepared himself mentally. Was this the fabled 'get to know each other better' part of a relationship?

"When? Where? Was he older than you or younger?" Sora wanted to ask a lot, but he knew he had to hold back so that Roxas would have a chance to think and properly answer him. To be honest, his heart sank a bit on hearing that he wasn't necessarily Roxas' 'first' anything.

"A few months after that kiss with a girl- she's probably the reason why I found out I didn't like girls. Or that I didn't really care for the typical boring things boys are 'supposed' to like. It was... at school, actually. He was a senior, which makes him 18 and obviously older than me. He's graduated now and we still keep in touch from time to time." Roxas had to think about it a little bit. Was Sora going to ask him for a name? Because he honestly didn't feel like getting too explicit with details.

"You... still talk with him?" Sora asked, his face falling a bit. He honestly felt his heart sink at the moment he heard the things that Roxas had to say about another boy. He honestly didn't know how to feel about things. But if he had to phrase it short, he was crushed.

Roxas smiled. Forcing Sora to look him in the eyes, Roxas saw Sora's flustered look, his trembling lip, and the fact that he seemed like he might literally cry. To get this wound up after hearing a few simple words from him. Tch. Sora did say that he would be upset when/if he did see or hear something about Roxas with someone else, but definitely not angry. He didn't seem to disappoint in his reaction. "He's not real." Roxas admitted, doing his best to console Sora. Despite the fact that the situation called for some serious aspects. he couldn't help the smile tugging away at the corners of his mouth. How could this little brat care about him so much?

"Huh?" Sora asked, still a little too frazzled to properly respond. "I-I knew that!"

Roxas hugged Sora and held him tightly. "You're not a good liar, Sora." Feeling Sora tense in his grasp, Roxas smiled again once Sora seemed to calm down. "You really like me, huh?" It was much more of a rhetorical question than anything so Roxas didn't expect an answer. Feeling a nod from Sora, Roxas exhaled lightly through his nose in a small 'laugh'. Pulling back, he looked down at Sora. "I think I might like you, too." Gently teasing Sora, Roxas decided to have a little fun. Despite him making Sora this upset, he doubted the brunette would be anymore upset if he were to joke around a little bit. Besides, it was just to lighten the mood anyway. Or else he'd have to deal with the behemoth. Frowning at the thought of Riku, he'd honestly like to kick his ass.

"I knew that..." Sora said, wiping his eyes with the back of his forearm.

"Then we both learned things we already knew." Roxas chided him. "What's _really_ on your mind, Sora?" Roxas leaned against the wall and stared at him, waiting for a proper answer.

"No-" Sora started to say the word 'nothing' but found himself cut off when Roxas placed his hand over his mouth. The blond was frowning at him and wouldn't let him finish.

"Don't say 'nothing'- you always lie at times like this. I won't know what's wrong if you don't tell me." Roxas could be perceptive, but as far as he knew the only one in his family who could just _know_ things was Ventus. And that was probably because he actually knew Roxas better than he knew himself. "Understand?" He asked, and once Sora nodded to him Roxas took his hand off his mouth.

"You seem like you've done everything and I'm the only one who doesn't know what's going on." Sora admitted, feeling like an idiot. How could he be so upset over something so trivial?

"Define 'everything'." Roxas wanted to find out what that specifically meant before he went about debunking Sora's thought process.

" _Everything._ You know, like, first kiss... first..." Sora refused to finish his sentence, as Roxas didn't exactly confirm or deny whether or not he had his _first time_ with that person.

"...relationship?" Roxas asked, reminding Sora of that fact. "You might not be my first kiss, Sora- but you're the first person I've ever officially dated. You said that you're the only one confused about what to do- what makes you think I know what I'm doing?"

"I forgot." Sora admitted, feeling a little more at ease. "You just, you seem like you know way more about all of this than I do."

"That's because I do. I'm gay, Sora. I like boys and I've known that for a while. I don't know everything there is to know, and I'm basically just going off of things I've learned along the way or a few facts I've come across through research." Roxas did his best to explain things to Sora, even if they came off a little muddled. "But as far as I've heard- you don't have much of a track record, Sora. And there's something I really want to know about you- are you bisexual? Gay? Curious?" Maybe now wasn't the best time to find out if Sora was just getting in a few cheap thrills when it came to him, but Roxas

"I don't think I'm any of those things." Sora thought long and hard about the questions he'd been asked, but couldn't summon a proper answer. Roxas' look said that he hadn't heard the answer he'd been looking for, and Sora hated the fact that he couldn't provide it.

"Do you like girls, Sora?" Roxas decided to go by process of elimination to find out the answer he sought out.

"As friends." Sora nodded.

"Do you like boys?" Roxas figured he could rule out 'bisexual' at this point.

"I like you." Sora spoke without hesitance.

"Is it different from your male friends?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"People were always by my side and around me. No matter what, I always had Riku, Kairi and Namine by my side to keep me company. I never felt lonely or like I was missing something. Until I met you. I've never kissed a boy or a girl before, and I never felt like I wanted to. But with you, everything's different. It's like my head gets all fuzzy, and my heart goes really fast, my hands get all sweaty, and I don't know what to do because I always want to be close to you even though I end up annoying you a lot." Sora didn't really understand it himself, but maybe Roxas would have a clue on what it meant to feel the way that he did and the best way to ensure that was for him to speak honestly and not hold back.

Roxas was surprised that Sora could say something like that to him and not end up flustered or embarrassed. Averting his eyes from Sora, he didn't exactly know how to deal with what was basically a love confession. At least, not right now. "So you're saying it was like love at first sight?"

"I don't know." Sora admitted. "I was just excited to meet someone new, and then I met you and you were so interesting and cool that I knew I wanted to learn more and more about you. Until the fireworks, I never thought that I wanted you to kiss me. I never thought that you _would_ kiss me." Sora found himself babbling a bit, but he wanted to put all of his cards on the table and let Roxas know how he felt.

"Neither did I. I didn't come here looking for a boyfriend- I just wanted a fresh start." Well, that and the fact that he didn't have much choice back home. People were scared of him because of what he did, and Roxas didn't really care anymore.

"Roxas?" Sora waited for him to answer or show that he was listening, and the blond gave him a simple nod that said 'go ahead'. "Do you like me?"

Roxas laughed lightly and shook his head. "Are you being serious?" Sora nodded to him, waiting for a proper answer to his question. "We are _dating_ now, right?"

"Yeah." Sora nodded.

"Then shouldn't that be your answer?" Roxas tried to point out the obvious to him.

"Is that a yes?" Sora asked, hoping for a little reassurance.

"Sora, I- you're _different_ from everyone I've ever met. For one thing, you actually made an effort to get to know me no matter how horrible I treated you. You're also someone I don't mind compromising for." Roxas pondered saying the words 'I like you' just so Sora could have his answer, but it felt a little morally bankrupt to hastily put them out there, even if Sora had already done so. But he was trying, and surely that had to hold some sort of value? Averting his eyes, he let out a small sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. Feeling Sora's gaze on him, he stole a look at the expectant brunette.

"Alright. How about this? You beat me in a sparring match and I give you a proper answer?" Roxas knew that it wasn't exactly a fair thing to do to Sora, inviting him to something he was sure the brunette would lose. But Roxas effectively hated both losing, and having to say how he 'felt' about things. Why did people have to be so complicated all the time?

Making his way over to the extra room in his apartment that doubled as his training room, he waited inside for Sora knowing fully well that it wouldn't be a fair contest and the odds were stacked entirely in his favor- but _that was the point_. He didn't want to make Sora feel bad or have him display a disappointed look that Roxas knew he'd be the cause of. Put simply, he could be an 'ass', and he knew that- but it wasn't his fault. He just had rash moments and could be impetuous dependent on the situation. Watching Sora come in the room shortly after him, Roxas prepared himself to get things over as quickly as possible. He'd have to hold back and make sure that Sora didn't end up injured badly.

"Ready?" Sora asked, smiling and bending down to help up the cross legged seated Roxas.

"Yeah." Roxas nodded, taking Sora's offered hand and standing up. "Are you?"

"Yep." Sora nodded without giving the situation much thought. Taking a few steps back until he and Roxas were equal distance apart, Sora wondered how many more interesting moves he'd see Roxas perform during their little contest. He still remembered the peculiar stance/kicks Roxas had showed to him during his previous visit to this room.

"You don't want to set any ground rules?" Roxas asked, a little surprised that he was ready to simple fight. But then again he was dealing with Sora, and someone who didn't know how to fight.

"Do you think we should?" Sora asked, unsure if such a thing were necessary.

"It's your choice." Roxas left it entirely up to Sora.

"Just don't go easy on me." Sora decided that be the condition between them.

"Sure." Though Roxas agreed, he knew he'd be doing a very limited moveset and occasionally make rookie mistakes that left him open so Sora could have a decent chance and not get too humiliated. "Let's go." Roxas went for a straight punch, deciding it best to start off with something he wasn't entirely familiarized with yet- karate. To his immediate surprise, Sora grabbed his fist and used his force to flip him over the brunette and pin him. Roxas' face must have conveyed utter bewilderment, because Sora seemed concerned.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked, a little confused by the way Roxas seemed blown away that he could manage to do a simple counter. Did he forget to mention the fact that he was a martial arts practitioner as well?

"Sora. How did you do that?" Roxas asked, a little skeptical on what happened did in fact happen.

"I take karate. Well, I did. I might be a little rusty. Sorry." Sora hoped he didn't come off as sloppy to Roxas. It honestly had been a while since he'd been to classes, but Sora had been confident in his abilities up until a few moments ago.

" _Rusty?_ " Roxas scoffed. "Sora you just did an advanced hold. I'm impressed."

"Really?" Sora asked, surprised by Roxas' sudden compliment of him.

"Yeah." Roxas nodded. "How long did you take karate?"

"Ever since I was little. My mom put me in it when I was 5 and I really stuck with it. I'm actually a black belt." Sora had rather enjoyed the classes and climbed through the ranks after the years he'd gone to his dojo.

"You're a black belt and you made it seem like you knew absolutely nothing when I was showing you a few kicks." Roxas frowned, remembering the very first time Sora had set foot in the very room they currently resided in. "Why didn't you tell me you knew how to fight?" He could barely perform a Taekwondo kick, so how could he be a karate prodigy?

"I didn't lie! I swear!" Sora lifted his hands in the air, surrendering to Roxas and hoping that he believed him. "You just taught me interesting things and I was trying to learn properly. And, well, you seemed to like teaching me, so I never brought up that I know karate."

"I believe that you didn't lie. Don't worry so much." Roxas tried to relax his features and make Sora feel better. It was hard, because out of habit he was used to being what others would deem as 'unreasonable' and his anger usually reinforced that fact. Honestly, he was also fairly impressed that Sora had used an advanced hold to not only knock him down, but to pin him as well. Did Sora even notice the compromising position they were in? Although it was a little naive to think things would so quickly change between them, but surely he had to have some situational awareness to know they were in a suggestive manner. Maybe it was a little more obvious to Roxas, considering Sora was on top of him and looking down on the blond.

"I just...don't want you mad at me." Sora admitted, glad that Roxas didn't seem to be angry with him. Smiling down at Roxas, he felt so relieved.

"I guess I do that a lot with you." Roxas probably couldn't count the number of instances he'd been more than just 'short' with Sora and hurt his feelings because he reflexively felt the need to do so. He made a mental note to try and be more patient with Sora. What was the point in dating him if he couldn't make him happy? "I'm sorry."

Taken aback by the fact that Roxas actually apologized to him, Sora released his push-up-like position and hugged him tightly. "Thank you." Blissfully unaware of the fact that he was hugging a little too tightly, Sora was just too relieved to notice.

"No problem." Roxas decidedly gave up on trying to escape the hug and accepted it as both boys fell together on the mats. Staring up at the ceiling, he almost found it laughable how he'd gotten into such a position. _A black belt._ Sora must have been some sort of prodigy. While not in the 'plays piano', or writing symphonies or the 'traditional' format, he had accomplished quite the feat. Blinking slowly, he continued to stare at the ceiling. "So. What else do you know?"

"A lot, actually." Sora let out a mild laugh, pulling back from the hug and staring down at Roxas. "Wanna see?" Excited to have an exhibition of his skills, Sora felt surprisingly even more giddy than he did yesterday. Nodding to his question, Roxas was genuinely curious. Standing up, Sora bent down and offered his hand to Roxas. Helping the blond up when he accepted the gesture, Sora smiled. "Ready?"

"Yep." Roxas stepped back and gave Sora some better breathing room. He'd never met a karate prodigy before and honestly never thought he'd end up dating one. Most people didn't even bother with karate. It was merely a stepping stone to them and like-wise most peoples beginner art. To actually stick with and master it to the level/degree of black belt? That took some really dedication.

"We don't kick like Taekwondo." Sora explained. Rolling his shoulders, inhaling and exhaling gently, he eventually found his proper ground and decided to show off a bit. Taking a proper fighting stance, he performed one of the more 'advanced' combos he'd learned and manufactured himself in his tenure of karate. Shifting in front of the punching bag before him, Sora hoped that he did a proper demo so that Roxas would get the just of things. Spinning around in a swift motion, he performed a high kick that was meant to hit his foe in the face and force them to spin and open their back to him. Following up with yet another spinning motion he used a mid kick which would hit them in the back of their torso and force them to stumble a bit. Hitting with two identical punches together, he imagined the way that his foe/sparring partner would have halted entirely in their tracks, as at this point if he managed to hit all of his attacks correctly- it was too late to escape his combo. Following up with an uppercut, he immediately used two high kicks that shifted from his right to left leg as the other left/touched the ground respectively. Using five swift punches, Sora finished and the punching bag immediately flailed at the force used by Sora.

Surprised at the degree of focus used by Sora, Roxas wasn't accustomed to him doing something this well thought out and precise. Everything seemed timed down to a tee, and perfectly executed. In spite of his seasoned martial arts background, he was in awe and slightly envious at the fact of how effortless Sora was about his way of showing his skills. "How would you use that combo?"

"Usually?" Sora asked, glancing over at Roxas. "The first strike goes to the head, the second is to the back, the third and fourth also to the back, and depending on the situation I'd go for the rising uppercut or a running mid kick." Sora demonstrated his slight mix-up to the combo which had been hitting the back-turned opponent with his knee, and forcing them off their feet. Dependent on how fast you could move, they'd either hit the mat/ground or you could land in another few quick strikes. "The two high kicks to boost, and follow up with the swift punches." Showing his three barrage punches alternating between left and right, he finished off with the remaining two. "It's one of my combos I made. You just have to be quick about it- or else it won't work."

"You... made that?" Roxas was completely in awe at what he'd just seen/heard. Sora was... _amazing_. Staring at him in a mix of disbelief and admiration, he honestly didn't know that Sora was holding back these kinds of talents. While his performance in school with almost anything academic seemed to be below average, he seemed to be consistent in that aspect. Black belt in karate? How did someone who was previously flunking math accomplish that?

"Uh... yeah. It's nothing special." Sora blushed a bit, sheepishly grinning as he scratched the back of his head and averted his eyes. Roxas was looking at him in a strange way and Sora didn't really know how to handle it.

"You're more advanced in fighting than I am, Sora." Roxas was in disbelief at the fact that he could downplay his own abilities so much. His jaw was still dropped a bit and Roxas was having a hard time fixing his composure- he wasn't used to idolizing others. It was a strange yet delightful sensation and the fact that Sora was being so cute and aloof about achievements he should rightfully have been proud of.

"Wha-? No way!" Sora instantly shot down the idea and shook his head. "You can do so many cool things! You're way better than I am!" Thinking of the Taekwondo and Ba Ji Quan moves he'd showcased to him previously, Sora was just as much in awe of Roxas' fighting skills as he was with Sora's.

"Sora you've literally _mastered_ your art. You make your own combos and seem so focused and off in your own little world when you employ them that it seems like everything melts away except for what you're doing. Most people go their whole fighting careers without being able to do something like that. I don't even think _I_ can do something like that." Despite the fact that they could both go back-and-forth and perform the cliche of 'no, you're better'- Roxas wasn't interested in something so trivial and stupid. He enjoyed giving credit where it was due. Karate may have been a 'starter' fighting style for most, but to stick with it and really give it your all, that honestly took guts.

Letting out a small laugh and scratching the back of his head, Sora had a small grin on his face. "It's...nothing special, really." Feeling a surge of pride and a giddiness at being praised so highly from Roxas, he wasn't really sure how to handle the situation.

Releasing a light scoff, Roxas shook his head. Some people were really just too humble to take even a light compliment. "So. You gonna show me what you can really do?" He asked, composing himself and readying for the challenge he just threw down.

"You still wanna fight?" Sora asked, surprised. He wasn't being cocky, condescending or arrogant- he was just pleasantly surprised. Excited, really.

"Definitely." Roxas nodded.

"Oh. Okay." Nodding to him, Sora lightly bowed his head and took a proper defensive/fighting stance.

"No holding back." Roxas chided him.

"Okay." Sora readily agreed. He honestly never thought of the possibility that the two of them could end up fighting in this training room, and was excited at the prospect of testing his skills against Roxas'.

Awoken by the rather noisy sounds of boys grunting and various crashing noises, Ventus wasn't sure if he was actually awake or not. Glancing over at the couch, he found the spots where Roxas/Sora had been the previous night to be vacant. Shutting and rubbing his eyes, he immediately opened them to the whiny cry of the kitten, who saw the very first person to stir and immediately cuddled up to Ventus, demanding attention. Purring and crashing its head into his hand, the kitten absolutely couldn't fathom being ignored for any longer. "Alright, alright... I'm up." Ventus let out a small laugh and tried to get over being tired. Though his voice was still fairly hoarse, Ventus knew there was no way he could go back to sleep now. Sitting up and watching as the kitten crawled into his lap, walked around in circles and began to smell him in the peculiar way that cats enjoyed which was to lightly dab the person with their nose and a few times and once satisfied to settle themselves and stop the odd actions.

"Are you hungry?" Ventus asked, lightly scratching the chin of the kitten, causing it to purr even more and shut its eyes in order to better enjoy the gesture. Stopping for a moment, the kitten opened his eyes and let out a rather impatient meow that made it clear he hadn't wanted Ventus to stop. "I'm sorry." Ventus apologized and let out a small laugh. Gently petting it on the head, he stood up and the kitten gracefully hopped off his lap in time to follow his lead, meowing the entire way to the kitchen. The prideful black kitten instantly ran over to his bowl and sat, glancing over at Ventus and expectantly waiting for his meal.

"Alright give me a second." Ventus looked around for any signs of the kittens food and eventually stumbled on his bag of food that had been kept on top of the refrigerator. Standing on his toes, he easily reached the bag and brought it over to the now impatient kitten. "Okay I got it. I'm being too slow." Pouring the kernels into the kitten's food dish, Ventus watched as it stopped whining and instantly tried to keep up with how fast he was pouring. "You should slow down- you're going to get a tummy ache." Gently scolding the kitten who showed absolutely no signs of slowing down, Ventus just smiled and shook his head.

Wincing as he heard yet another crash and surprised at the fact that Riku and the girls had yet to wake up from all the ruckus, Ventus was curious about what the hell they were doing together. Leaning over and staring into the hallway, the noises seemed to be coming from the training room (thank god) and not the bedroom. But he knew better than to suspect the bedroom, right? Mentally scolding himself and shaking his head, he honestly didn't want to formulate any pictures in his head of _what_ could potentially be happening, since to his knowledge Roxas wasn't that kind of person and Sora didn't seem to have a clue about how a relationship between two guys worked.

Removing any irrational or irrelevant thoughts from his head, Ventus pressed forward and opened the door to the training room. It seemed that Sora and Roxas were sparring. At least, from the snippet he'd seen of Sora performing an expert mid-kick hold and a full-devastating punish on Roxas and being overwhelmed at the combo that appeared to be from karate. Was Sora a karate prodigy? Once Roxas attempted a wake up kick in order to give himself some breathing room, he saw Sora quite literally run up the wall and perform a flying kick that instantly defeated the wake up. Ventus couldn't help his jaw dropping. Of all the competitions he'd been to of Roxas' and watching feats performed by 'higher-up's of Taekwondo or Ba Ji Quan users, he'd never actually seen one do some of the more impressive things that Sora was actively doing.

Although he would've loved to watch more and see all of the impressive things either one could do, Ventus had an even better line of thought: he should make breakfast. Silently shutting the door, he made his way over to the kitchen and familiarized himself with the set-up, Roxas was really just predictable in the way that he put things. Was that a bad thing? Not at all. He just had a particular way of enjoying things and organizing his kitchen was one of them. Even though at times it could drive their mother positively crazy that he would 'move' things, and vice-versa when she'd 'correct' the situation and Roxas would get on edge because she had 'moved' things and he 'straightened it out'. The never ending kitchen battle had honestly just been little more than a laugh for both Ventus and their father who honestly abstained and enjoyed keeping their distance from the small feud. Battle lines were drawn, but neither male would join in as they both honestly just knew better than to get between such things.

Laughing at the memory, Ventus honestly couldn't think of a single reason why they were both so headstrong. His little brother was always so troublesome. Despite it all, and the fact that he could be a tad bit trying, or a general 'brat', Ventus still loved him plenty. Smiling softly, he set about making breakfast for everyone. Completing the simple task set out before him it was only inevitable that everyone gradually wandered into the dining room/kitchen and sat the table. The girls who had just woken up to the pleasant aroma were rubbing their eyes and yawning ever so slightly while it seemed Riku more or less was trying to find out if it was Ventus or Roxas in the kitchen.

"Thank you." Smiling and saying "No problem." in response to the gratuity both girls had awarded him, Ventus still shot a smile at Riku who seemed to still not know who he was dealing with. It was honestly either that or he was just a grumpy person in the morning.

"I see you've been busy." Roxas commented as he stepped out from the hallway and into the dining area.

"I could say the same." Ventus said with a smile at his younger brother.

Roxas simply shrugged his shoulders while Sora walked out from behind him, seemingly embarrassed. The brunette walk of shame made his way to the table with a sheepish smile/borderline grin. Whether or not he had won the sparring contest was anyone's guess at this point. The gentle clink of a plate placed in front of him was enough to get his mind off things. "T-Thank you!" Sora felt his cheeks get warm as he looked at the person he was thanking. He was still having a hard time with the 'Ventus'/'Roxas' situation he was currently in.

"No problem." Ventus chuckled at Sora's adorable reaction to being served. Feeling his cheeks also get warm, he did his best to simply smile.

Roxas frowned as he watched their odd exchanges/behaviors. Why did the two of them act so...flirty? Sure there was being nice and polite to others, but the two of them honestly seemed like they'd one day run off together. Wouldn't that be some kind of ironic, crushing blow? His older brother steals his first boyfriend who managed to turn him gay somehow. It sounded like some sort of bad movie plot. He was just being irrational, right? There was no way Sora would have wanted someone who was better suited to himself and that he'd probably have more in common with over a cynic like Roxas- right?

As if somehow sensing Roxas' inner thoughts, Sora flashed him a smile.

Averting his eyes and finding himself staring in a dead-lock with Riku, Roxas frowned. Why did he let him stay in his house, again? Right. Because he knew that if Sora was staying then his pain in the ass friend would want to stay and be a busybody and ruin the evening. Plus he didn't want Sora to think he had ulterior motives. Though it seemed Sora was much more of a go-getter than he thought. Waking up in a cuddling session wasn't one of things on his mind when he'd gone to sleep the previous night.

Feeling another set of eyes on himself, Roxas glanced over to find Namine staring at him and smiling softly. Despite his ordinary disdain toward others, he didn't find her company to be inconveniencing in the slightest and she seemed to be an all-around good person. Even Sora's friend Kairi seemed to be a good fit. But Riku? He never foresaw a possibility where the two of them could ever become friends.

* * *

Their morning had started off so simple, so how had they gotten here? Well that was actually an easy one. Sora's mother had punished him to watch his cousin while his aunt/uncle went out for an evening. Naturally Roxas had decided to come along as he was also at fault for the punishment and felt a sense of responsibility in solving it. While Sora didn't seem to mind and was pleasantly surprised with the opportunity to see his little cousin, Roxas hadn't been so sure. He wasn't too keen on being around children.

"This isn't what I had in mind." Roxas admitted. Staring down at the young child who was positively following him around like a lost duckling no matter where he went off to, he never really figured himself the type to be 'good with children'. "Is something wrong?" Roxas asked, kneeling down to the boy's height and hoping for some form of explanation on why he thought he had to stick to him like glue. Observing him in a quick once-over he didn't find anything wrong on the outside. At least, nothing that seemed immediately life-threatening or serious enough that he'd need to worry.

Shaking his head, the young boy opted not to speak aloud.

Blinking several times over and trying to come up with some form of plan, Roxas let out a small sigh and placed his hand over his face. Raising it upward until it went through his hair, he had absolutely no idea. Standing up he walked through the foreign home and found himself once more being trailed by the younger boy. His steps weren't exactly heavy, they seemed light and almost like a silent pitter-patter. He didn't know why the little boy had decided to latch onto him as if there was some kind of likable quality of Roxas' that should have drawn him to the older male. Stopping in his tracks Roxas felt a gentle tug on his sweater. Looking at his side, he stared down at Sora's little cousin. He had to admit the little guy was pretty adorable. The way his green eyes shone with curiosity and a vague sense of anxiety toward Roxas, his _gray_ /white hair- the very color that had been tainted for him at the hands of a taller jerk but right now he didn't mind. "Are you okay?"

Nodding at Roxas the little boy finally decided to speak up. "I'm glad you're here." He admitted as he smiled at Roxas.

Roxas refrained from uttering the word 'aw' aloud to Sora's cousin but he did honestly think he was being adorable. Besides he had a question to ask. "How come?"

"I like you." Noel shrugged his shoulders.

Letting out a small scoff Roxas ruffled Noel's hair and smiled a bit. "I think I like you too. You're kind of growing on me." As Noel continued to smile up at him despite Roxas messing up his hair, he honestly felt like the little boy was enjoyable to be around. Some might say he was a 'bad person' for thinking let alone saying it aloud- but kids could generally be a pain in the ass. Some of them were just so bratty and entitled and had their parents wrapped around their finger. This one seemed like a well-rounded individual who wouldn't be a handful. "Any idea where that cousin of yours is hiding?"

"Were we ever playing hide-and-seek?" Noel countered Roxas' question with his own ask.

"Well, no, but he's not exactly out in the open with us. Is he busy doing something I don't know about?" Roxas frowned as he searched for any sign of Sora. Seriously how did he manage to pull the disappearing act?

"He could be getting a snack or something. It's Sora after all. Wanna go watch something?" Noel asked, hopeful the answer would be 'yes'.

"Sure." Roxas barely had the chance to say the word aloud before Noel had taken his hand and began leading him to the living room. Being put in front of the couch he watched as Hope grabbed the remote and attempted to put on a show he enjoyed. Expecting something along the lines of cartoons or something dull that he wouldn't be able to get into, Roxas was surprised to find Hope had put on a very interesting, old tv show that Roxas used to watch in his youth. Alright that settled things: this little boy was the ultimate companion for him. Save for Ventus, it seemed like the kid really just knew how to hang around him. He never once inconvenienced Roxas, they enjoyed the same things, he didn't say unnecessary drivel, what wasn't there to like?

"You like this show too, huh?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah." Noel nodded. "It's not boring like cartoons can be." Not to mention the fact that he really enjoyed the setting, the fact that the lead was a woman for a change of pace and she wasn't just a 'damsel in distress'.

"I used to watch it when I was your age. My parents kinda let me get away with a lot of things. Plus it didn't really hurt anybody." Semi-explaining a bit of himself to Noel, he just felt like giving a little background on why he also enjoyed the show that technically wasn't meant for children (not because of perversions or profanity or something so dull) because most of the themes went over their heads as children. But the story and morals of it were something that could at least be understood, even if they seemed naive as one grew up. Justice and peace always winning the day? Triumph over evil? In television, sure. Real life? Not likely.

"My mom doesn't mind me watching it. Plus my dad's never really home, anyway. So it's not as if he'd ever notice." Noel seemed rather bitter about it.

Maybe he missed his father being home. Roxas could honestly relate. "You know... when I was little my dad could be really busy, too. But it wasn't because he didn't care or felt like being anywhere else- he loved me so much that I honestly never really felt that with anyone. It was different-" Roxas more or less could feel a bit of sadness seeping its way in as he looked wistfully toward the floor. Sitting on it instead of the couch, he felt his face relax as it was devoid of any happiness, pain, suffering, or anything of the sort as it relaxed to its normal state. "-my mom's love was something I also cherished. Even that of my brother, my aunt and uncle whom I learned to call parents... but him? It was something else. The way he'd throw me up on his shoulders despite my protests and the fact that a three year old could be afraid of heights, the late night walks, almost secret club we seemed to be in without my mom from time to time. They were my home."

Picking up on the fact that parents, let alone _father's_ were a touchy subject for Roxas, Noel was a little awkward but decided to do his best to help. Getting off his knees from sitting at the coffee table, the young boy stood up and walked over to the seemingly brooding/sad blond male. Roxas' hair was in the way for Noel to see his expression but he assumed it to be grim. Kneeling down he hugged Roxas. "I'm sorry." Speaking the words that seemed relative to the moment, he felt like apologizing for something that was ultimately out of his control and something that not at all his fault could be atoned for somehow by speaking those words aloud. What could you say in a situation like this?

Somewhat ashamed to be consoled by a six year old, Roxas' pride wanted him to object, even shun the gesture/words and stand up or push him off- but he didn't. Despite hating physical contact with others he hugged the little boy back. Maybe even a little tighter than he should have. To be perfectly honest he never expected this to be happening today. Maybe he'd gotten too comfortable.

Either male didn't know when to let go and was seemingly awkward by the situation at hand. Eventually one made to let go and both Roxas/Noel pulled out of the gesture and sat staring at one another.

"I... I don't know how to ask without being rude or being..." Not really knowing how to word it, Noel just decided to press forward and hope that Roxas wouldn't end up angry at him for what he was about to say. "What happened to him? Your dad, I mean."

"My parents, they died. And it was my fault." Roxas tried to explain to Noel. He knew that it would probably seem strange to his young companion but since he had asked, Roxas felt like he should at the very least do his best to elaborate. "We were going to a dojo for me to enroll and further my studying of Taekwondo. My father was usually very busy with work and couldn't made it to these things so my mother and I were very surprised when he said that he was not only coming but he'd be driving us the whole way there. My mom was already planning on driving me as she knew how important it was to me that I go. So the excitement/surprise wasn't really lost on us as he got into the car and drove off. It had been raining that morning but none of us really thought anything of it. At least, I didn't. Being a kid I didn't really think much of something I saw on an ordinary basis." Roxas felt like rain more or less wouldn't be significant to a person. But for him it seemed to now provide a deep-rooted sadness.

"The dojo was a pretty fair distance so we were prepared for a bit of a commute. The whole way I looked out the window." All Roxas had managed to see was more or less scenery. The blurred, green wisps of trees/plant life/vegetation and gravel/pebbles/rocks, even the odd animal along the way or person/car. He hadn't been listening to his parents or anything in the background as he'd been far too focused on staring at the world outside his window. "The rain made our car ride dangerous. None of us knew what we were in for, considering we were going for such a simple errand. There hadn't been cars for quite a while and that should have been an indicator for us." There was a bit of mumbling on the radio Roxas vaguely recalled, even the voice of his mother as she said something to his father that he didn't recall. "I don't know what caused the accident. I was there, in the car, but I still can't say. Some people say it could have been the vehicle's breaks locking up, the tires were too dull or my dad was a bad driver which I know isn't true. I guess it was anything and everything to blame him." Shutting his eyes, he remembered absolutely every detail he'd been recounting. "The car swerved and I remember nothing but darkness." Maybe his mother had said something, or Roxas had missed the fact that she'd looked back at him, his father had tried to keep his cool, though in the back of their minds they knew that this would likely be the end but they wished for nothing more than their son's safety.

Who could say? He couldn't.

"After that, I woke up in a hospital." Roxas honestly wished he'd remembered more but even after all these years there was nothing more to recall for him.

Hearing all that he had to say, Noel was trying to keep up and find something respectful/useful to say to Roxas that might help the situation or show he understood all that had been said to him. Maybe it was a tad bit out of his depth but the boy would try his best. "I- how old were you?"

"About your age. Maybe a bit younger." Roxas looked Noel directly in the eyes. Things had gotten to be far too serious between them. "I'm sorry." He apologized immediately for the way that things had turned out. He was way out of line opening up to Noel like this. No child needed to hear about how his parents had died or to have to try so hard to relate to him when it was out of his abilities to do so.

"Sorry? For what?" Noel asked cocking his head to the side. It didn't seem like Roxas had anything to apologize for. If anything it was Noel's cue to apologize for asking something that so personal and seemed to really hurt Roxas to talk about.

"For talking about something like this. You don't need to think about things like this. I should have known better. Maybe I just got too comfortable." _Because you're too much like me._ In either case Roxas felt it was the right decision to apologize.

"No. It seemed like something you wanted to say. But I'm sorry for asking." Noel did his best to smile but he honestly couldn't after the rather grim situation. He hadn't really expected this kind of an answer. He more or less thought maybe his father had left or something.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I did want to tell someone." Roxas had made a start with Sora but had never bothered elaborating. About to say more he was surprised when he found himself knocked over and a pain in his side. Wincing as it was inflicted and shutting his eyes Roxas only opened them once he was ready. Finding his vision blurred by peculiar dots and brown hair Roxas took a guess when he finally spoke up. "Sora." Hearing a muffled voice on the other end of things he knew that he'd gotten it right on the nose. After all who else could have done something so strange as to completely blindside a person and tackle them? Feeling all of Sora's weight pressed up against him Roxas really didn't know what to do. Opting to just lay there as there wasn't much else he could do. "Any reason you decided to tackle me?"

More or less surprised when Sora's eyes caught his since they were clouded over with tears, Roxas didn't know what to say. Why was he crying? Had he been eavesdropping on their conversation?

"How come you didn't tell me?" Sora asked.

"I don't know. I more or less figured something like this would happen." Roxas felt a little more justified in the fact that he _shouldn't_ have told Sora about this particular incident in his life. But then again why had he bothered recounting it to his little cousin? Maybe in the back of his mind he knew that Sora would have wound up eavesdropping and would have heard what he had to say. Maybe he'd deluded himself into thinking he'd opened up to the boy because of how similar they seemed to be in order to have this sort of situation come out. In all honesty he could say whether or not that was the truth as he more or less did some things subconsciously. Letting out a small sigh he decided it was best to console as opposed to scold/belittle/demean Sora in any way, shape or form. Hesitantly his arms wrapped around Sora and he even pat him on the back. Averting his eyes from the embarrassing situation he honestly hoped it'd be over soon.

Glancing over at Noel he found that the young boy had actually flashed him a look of apology and sympathy. Not being one for pity let alone settling for someone else's on himself, Roxas stared once more at Sora.

"It's sad!" Sora pointed out the obvious as he sat up from Roxas' chest and stared down at him, his knees on either side of Roxas' torso.

"I guess so." Roxas didn't really know how to peg it anymore. He honestly hadn't thought about the fact that his parents had been gone for quite some time. Sure there was the day of their death every year but other than that he'd never actively searched out the bitter memories. In either case he treated the situation almost as if it no longer had anything to do with himself anymore.

"You don't feel sad about it?" Sora asked, confused at Roxas' coldness.

"No." Roxas admitted. "I don't feel much of anything about it."

"Didn't you love them?"

"More than anything."

"And now?" Sora asked. Though that comment had stung a bit he honestly wanted a better answer.

"Now? Now there's an annoying brunette in my way." Roxas stared directly into Sora's eyes and his lips formed the smallest hint of a smile. Did he feel like smiling? No. But would it make Sora feel better? Yes. And that was the endgame here: be an attentive, loving boyfriend. Even if he didn't really know how to be either of things, he could at the very least try his hardest.

"Sorry." Sora apologized and promptly got off of Roxas. Offering him his hand, he hesitantly let it hang in the air for a moment or two.

His first instinct had been to brush it away but Roxas didn't want to be too 'cold' and decided to take it. Standing up he let out a small sigh. "What were you, a rugby player in another life? Wrestling champion? That tackle was really something." Going for a sort-of-compliment and not exactly berating him for his efforts, Roxas hoped he didn't come off as rude or hurt Sora's feelings in some way. Which of course seemed to be his niche.

"Huh? No." Immediately shutting down the idea, Sora looked away from Roxas. Feeling his cheeks get hot he was embarrassed for his actions.

"Is that a 'no, I actually did' or a real 'no'? Because you do lie. A lot." Roxas pointed out the obvious, holding back a smile. He really enjoyed teasing Sora over the fact that he had lied to him previously. Would he ever let it go? Not likely. But it wasn't some sort of deep seeded grudge or anger on his part- he just enjoyed watching Sora's reactions when he brought it up.

"I do not-!" Sora protested Roxas' words even though he did know he could tell little white lies in order to make people feel better. And more often than not that was what he'd tried to do.

"You do." Roxas interrupted his speech. "Admit it."

Sora frowned at Roxas, daring him to say it again.

Roxas narrowed his eyes back at Sora. Was this a battle of wills?

It seemed that Sora could be very stubborn when he wanted to as he wasn't backing down. Roxas had an equal amount of stubbornness and he surely wasn't going to give in. After a few moments of blank staring in their stalemate Sora couldn't resist smiling and laughing. Though Sora seemed humored by the situation, Roxas more or less was confused as to why he was laughing.

"Sorry!" Sora spoke out the word in-between laughs. "I- I'm sorry. It shouldn't be funny but it was." Holding his sides, he wasn't sure he could take the situation at all seriously. Whether or not Roxas had been playing along or genuinely was upset didn't per se matter in the now. Couldn't they just get along?

"Weren't you grabbing snacks or something?" Roxas decided to let it go. What was the point in arguing?

"Oh! Right!" Seemingly just now remembering what he'd been doing, Sora bobbed his head up and down and raced out of the room.

"Sorry." Noel apologized to Roxas before he could say much else.

"Huh? What are you sorry for?" Roxas looked over at the little boy and was surprised he'd seen/heard all of that commotion. More or less he was also embarrassed to have had a witness to that kind of thing.

"My cousin can be really weird sometimes." Noel point blank stated the obvious between the two of them.

"You get that too, huh?" Roxas let out a small exhale then chuckled. "He's...quite a character."

"He likes you." Noel pointed out.

"I know." Roxas wouldn't at all disagree with that. But did this kid mean 'like' as in attraction or 'like' as in friends? Because more or less they had tried both and were now in the trial run for a relationship. And while he had gone all touchy/feely before, he wasn't going to tell a little boy that his older cousin was in a gay relationship.

"And you like him." Noel wasn't asking questions or for clarification on things, he was just trying to make sure he had things straight.

"Yeah." Roxas nodded.

"Cool." Noel smiled. "Wanna watch tv?"

Roxas stared blankly at him and exhaled a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in. How could a child manage to be so 'deep' and then suddenly go back to being childish? "Sure." Readily agreeing with Noel so that their current situation would be over and done with, he walked over and sat back down. Feeling a sudden weight/warmth at his side, Roxas glanced over and saw Noel sitting beside him and seemingly enjoying the program on the screen as opposed to dwelling on their conversation. Deciding against it himself, Roxas decided to watch the show.

After a few moments Sora returned and found Roxas and Noel sitting together and watching tv. They were sitting on the love seat so it wasn't exactly welcoming for him to sit with them. Staring at Roxas and standing idly for a few moments, it seemed that he really hadn't touched upon their world or managed to burst their bubble quite yet. Still, he really wanted to sit beside Roxas. Not to discount his adorable little cousin, but he could have visited any time with Noel. Continuing to stand idly by and wonder when/if he should do something to announce his presence, the brunette boy stared all around the room.

After a little while of sitting there and watching Noel's program Roxas eventually felt a weight on his shoulder. Glancing over, he saw the boy's eyes closed and he seemed to be soundly asleep. Smiling a bit and exhaling gently from his nose in a hushed form of 'laugh', Roxas wondered if it was a habit in this family to just fall asleep with/on the person next to you and snuggle into them. Feeling another set of eyes on the two of them, more specifically Roxas himself, he glanced over to see Sora staring almost longingly at him. Was there also a hint of jealousy? No way. How could someone manage to be jealous of a six year old? Gently removing Noel's head from his shoulder as he gradually made his way off the couch, Roxas saw him curl up and soundly keep sleeping. Deciding to take care of the situation at hand, he figured it wouldn't be too hard to make it up to Sora. "Was I neglecting you?" Starting off with a simple question, he figured the answer more or less to be 'yes'. But to his credit he wasn't supposed to be the babysitter or here at all.

"You looked like you were having fun. I didn't want to interrupt." Sora instantly dodged the question. He smiled but internally wasn't smiling at all.

"Liar." Roxas instantly shot down that idea. "You need to stop lying."

"How do you...?" Sora didn't know how to finish his question. At that point it'd probably be the nail in the coffin, for by his own admission he'd been lying. Were they harmful lies that he meant to use to hurt people? No. Just little white lies to make sure everyone was okay and happy. He was honestly just the kind of person who wished everyone was happy.

"Know? Because you're you and since you're you, I can tell when you're lying. You're not a good liar Sora. And I don't think that's a bad thing." Roxas shrugged his shoulders. So Sora would probably never get one by him. What did that matter? "Do yourself a favor, okay? Stop trying so hard. You don't have to take everyone's feelings into account just because they're all used to leaning on you for moral or emotional support. Be you. That's all I care about."

Sora smiled and nodded his head. "Okay." Despite Roxas telling him to be a little more selfish, he honestly couldn't help it. Helping others came naturally to him and he rather enjoyed feeling needed/wanted.

"Any ideas on what you'd like to do after this?" Roxas asked. He figured more or less there was a little more left to their weekend so they might as well do something fun.

"Not really." Sora shook his head. "I'm happy doing anything."

"I get that. You jumped me while I was sleeping." Roxas smiled a bit as he teased Sora. Keeping his voice low since Sora's cousin was sleeping, he waited for the adorable overreaction.

"I did not!" Sora protested his accusations though he knew part of it to be true.

"You did." Roxas insisted. "You're just too stubborn to admit it."

"You smelt nice!" Sora countered as if that were a valid point to counteract Roxas' accusations of him.

"And that makes it my fault?" Roxas asked. Humored by the situation he felt like he should hear Sora out on his logic.

"Yes!" Sora nodded his head. "I don't even know how I ended up in your room or lying next to you, but you smelt nice!"

Roxas' eyes widened as he realized that was essentially checkmate when it came to their argument. Who put Sora in his room and went to bed with him? Well, maybe withholding the truth wouldn't be such a big deal. "You smelt like a wild animal." Roxas countered playfully.

"Did not!" Sora countered with a huff. "Still." His features softened a bit. "Do you know how I got into your room with you? I thought we were sleeping in the training room..." Trailing off as he seemed deep in thought about things, Sora wondered about the mystery.

Damn. Looked like his diversion only semi-worked. "Yeah. I brought you in there- don't get all sentimental or cute on me, I just thought you'd get upset if I left you in there alone." Roxas did his best to explain in a way that Sora wouldn't get any misunderstandings about. Or in a way that wouldn't embarrass him.

"Oh." Sora smiled, borderline grinned at Roxas. "I'm glad you brought me in there."

"You're heavier than you look." Roxas commented in an effort to wipe that grin off Sora's face.

"Am I?" Sora chuckled. "Sorry."

Roxas sighed. There was no beating him. "No plans for the weekend? I'm sure Riku, Kairi or Namine would want to be with you. I mean they're probably annoyed I seem to be taking up all of your time."

"Oh. no they're fine about it!" Sora was glad Roxas seemed to be taking his friends into account when it came to his time. "Well, maybe not Riku..." Sora thought about it a little more.

Roxas frowned. "Good." He grumbled bitterly. That silver haired pain in the ass could butt out.

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"Nothing." Roxas lied.

"Oh. Okay." Sora easily believed him. "Roxas... There's one thing I want to ask."

"Go for it." Roxas waited for whatever question he had coming his way.

"What happened? I mean, after the accident?" Sora really wanted to know.

"I woke up in a hospital bed. My head was bandaged, arm was in a cast, a few ribs were broken... Lucky to be alive, I guess. 'Lucky'." Roxas scoffed at the term. "That's what the doctors said. But I didn't feel the least bit 'lucky'. My parents died and I was still there. I woke up alone. They said my family was on the way and, I, for a very brief, fleeting moment of hope thought they meant my mom and dad would be showing up. Maybe they were okay. But they weren't." Roxas could remember the glimmer of hope in his adolescent heart. The way his lip quivered and his tears that fell when the two people he wanted to see most in the entire world never showed up to get him. He'd never see their smiling faces or hear their voices again. Tucking his knees into his chest and ignoring the stings of pain that made his condition worse. Realizing you were all alone in the world had a very large numbing effect.

"Things fall apart. They fall apart so hard. One day you're going out to do the normal thing. A family thing. And then your parents are dead. Your aunt, uncle and cousin come to see you. They fight back tears. Try to be strong. The adults leave the room, you and your cousin sit together. You put on a brave, strong face and try to keep it together. Then he looks at you as if he's staring into your soul. Your facade cracks, you break and end up being held by another child. Something in you changes. Something... something triggers." Roxas tried to remember. He did his best to recount things the way they were. It was fuzzy.

"Roxas..." Sora instantly regretted asking. Roxas didn't show a hint of sadness when he spoke. There wasn't any sort of emotion on his face, but a tinge of... Longing(?) when he spoke.

"Sora." Roxas didn't look at him when he spoke his next words. His left hand balled into a fist. "You should know something else, too..."

"Hm? Sora was curious on what he had to say.

Roxas opened his mouth, about to say something, but was cut off by Noel's parents returning.

"We're back!" His mother spoke up, smiling at Sora and his friend. "How was he?"

"Fine." Sora smiled in return. "We had lots of fun. He's sleeping now." Sora motioned to the couch.

"Aw. You're such a good babysitter." Sora's aunt smiled and praised him. "I hope you weren't too bored."

"Nope. It wasn't boring at all!" Sora honestly could say he wasn't bored for a moment.

"I'm glad. And you can go now. I'm sure you have other things to do with your weekend." His aunt released him from his duties.

"Okay." Sora nodded to his aunt. Leaving with Roxas in tow, the pair promptly said their goodbyes and exited the home.

"'Weekend plans', huh? What kind of plans do you have, Sora?" Roxas asked.

"I thought we'd all hangout all weekend." Sora honestly wasn't sure what would happen, but he hoped it wouldn't be boring.

"Oh?" Roxas was a bit disappointed at that typical _Sora_ answer. "How about we go on a date tomorrow? Make up for the lost day."

"A date?" Sora was surprised at the sudden question.

"Yeah, a date. Aren't we supposed to do that kind of thing?" Roxas asked.

"So a date because we're 'supposed to'?" Sora asked. Didn't that make it seem like something tedious that they were 'getting out of the way'? Weren't first dates supposed to be fun or something?

"No." Roxas shook his head. "Well, kind of. But also because I want to. You don't want to?" He looked Sora in the eyes when he asked.

Sora was surprised at his expression. Something in his eyes made them gleam and he honestly couldn't for any good reason think of saying 'no'. "I do!" Sora nodded. "I just... I didn't know if you wanted to."

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to, right?" Roxas smiled softly.

"Right." Sora nodded. "I'd love to go!" He honestly still felt so zippy and energetic from yesterday. Now this? He didn't know how much more he could handle.

"Good. It's settled then." Roxas saw Sora glancing at his hand. His hand would hesitantly begin to reach out and stop mid-reach. Eye rolling, he shook his head and took Sora's hand in his.

Sora was surprised Roxas just knew that he'd wanted to hold hands. How was he so good at that? Grinning like an idiot, he gently squeezed Roxas' hand. He was happy.

Roxas watched Sora's reaction and couldn't help smiling. Walking him home, he decided it was best to let him at the very least get a change of clothes that weren't his and get ready properly for tomorrow.

"Roxas."

"Hm?"

"Wasn't there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Nothing. It's not important." He'd tell him some other time. It could wait.

"Oh. Okay." Sora nodded. Arriving on his doorstep, he wondered if Roxas would come inside. "Are you going home right now?"

"Yeah. It's late." Roxas noticed that the sun had set at some point during their walk. Not that it really mattered or he particularly cared as the night was much more favorable to him than the day.

"Yeah." Sora nodded. He could see that it was night already. "Okay. Well. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Count on it." Roxas turned on his heels and began walking away.

"Ah. Roxas!" Sora called him.

Turning around, Roxas was surprised when Sora promptly kissed him quickly and continued to grin stupidly back at him.

"See ya!" Sora chirped happily, making his way inside and waving.

"Bye..." Roxas blinked and was at a loss. Sora was _very_ forward. Waving even though Sora was no longer in sight, he felt a little flustered. Was it him or did it just get warmer out? Touching his cheeks, he felt an alien sensation of warmth spreading across his face. Sora made him blush. At least Ventus hadn't been there to see this. It was embarrassing.


End file.
